1.7 Billion OTT-Capable Devices to Ship this Year

According to IHS (NYSE:IHS), more than 1.7 billion devices capable of accessing over-the-top (OTT) broadband video content like Netflix and Hulu are set to ship by the end of 2013. Shipments of OTT-capable devices are expected to rise 20% this year from 1.43 billion units in 2012. The market is expected to grow another 20% next year, on its way to some 2.67 billion units by 2017. By then, total shipments will have expanded by 86% from 2012 volumes.OTT-capable equipment includes set-top boxes, Blu-ray players, Internet-enabled TVs, game players, digital media adapters like Apple TV or Roku, media tablets, PCs and smartphones."Content owners, operators and consumers all are driving the proliferation of the OTT model," said Jordan Selburn, IHS' senior principal analyst for consumer platforms. "Content owners want to expand the market for the films, music and videos they own. Meanwhile, operators wish to use OTT in order to add value to their services and keep subscribers from cancelling TV subscriptions in favor of purely broadband connections - preventing what the industry calls 'cutting the cord.' Consumers, for their part, desire access to a wide variety of media at the time and place of their own choosing."