The Major Competitors for the Digital Television Communication Case Study

The Major Competitors for the Digital Television Communication - Case Study Example This research will begin with the statement that the rapid advancement of the communication technology is bringing a number of advantages to the users of the improved technology. One of such advanced development is the digital television. While the consumers generally recognize the benefits of the advanced technology, they are also aware of the complexities and other disadvantages of the intrusion and other anti-social incidents. The major objective of technology today is to align itself with the preferences of the consumers as to the ways in which they would like to enjoy their leisure time. This is becoming increasingly important as the customers depend on the improvements in technology for their day to day needs. In this context, the Digital Television technology is offering a wide range of benefits to the consumers. At the same time, the technology is not left without competition both in terms of the hardware and also from other kinds of service providers in the visual communicat ion media. The three different digital delivery platforms - terrestrial, cable and satellite - have operated as a potential hindrance to the growth of the digital TV market in the UK. The early market entrants have created proprietary systems that have affected the growth of the digital TV. "The competition between the satellite and terrestrial platforms is such that set-top boxes are now being provided free to digital subscribers." However out of this IPTV is not likely to pose any stiff competition presently to Digital TV despite the support from the service providers. "IPTV is primarily a defensive move by the major service providers rolling out services. While they have the potential to generate additional revenues for operators, the key driver of deployment - in the short-term at least - will be improving customer loyalty and adding greater depth to the services provided to consumers over ADSL networks." (CBR) But in future, this particular segment is sure to act as a major com petitor for digital TV. Â  Personal Video Recorder (PVR): Â  Being an additional service offered by the Pay-TV operators the penetration level of PVR is not that significant in the UK context. Since PVR represents a time-shifted viewing this segment may develop into a powerful competitor in the future as in the US already 18 percent of the households were having a PVR at the end of 2006 through the development in Europe is not that significant which remained at 2 percent of the household having a PVR. High Definition TV: Even though there is no potential threat of competition from the HD TV presently due to lack of HD programming in the UK the likelihood of this segment becoming a major development in the digital technology area is imminent. The promotion of free set-top boxes from the Pay TV operators has seriously affected the integration of the digital TV market. On the service side, there are various service providers providing different forms of services to attract the consum ers. Â  'Freeview' has an important role to play in the Television market offering over 40 channels delivering digital television through a standard antenna. All entertainment avenues in the form of music, news, sport, and films are available free to the customers and Freeview is in hot demand with 'no price' as its selling point. "Sky provides a service for which people are willing to pay. Its base package alone provides a far greater choice than its free competitor, while those who wish to broaden this foundation are free to select from packages that will deliver everything from the latest blockbusters to live premiership football.