Broadcast Control Systems Trending Upwards, as IP Takes Hold

Broadcast Control Systems Market Analysis and Commentary

Broadcast control solutions are rising to prominence, increasing in value by 3% last year to achieve global revenues of nearly $88 million. That’s according to a new report from Futuresource Consulting.

As IP networks gain a foothold within broadcasting, the complexity of the associated control systems is creating an opportunity for vendors.
“The rise in the number of complex IP projects is the primary driver of market growth,” says Adam Cox, Senior Analyst - Imaging & Pro Video at Futuresource Consulting. “Combine that with the new facilities being built in emerging markets and the growing live sports segment and market value will grow to more than $103 million by FY23.”

In value terms, Europe led the pack in FY18, followed by North America. Both regions experienced 3% year-on-year growth. APAC witnessed 6% growth, but from a lower base due to comparatively limited levels of IP adoption. However, strong growth is expected to continue as new IP facilities are built in the region.

It can be argued that broadcast control solutions fall into one of two broad categories. Firstly, ‘single vendor’ solutions, which were historically designed to control a manufacturer’s own hardware and provide a certain level integration with other vendors’ equipment. The second type are referred to as ‘vendor agnostic’ systems.

“What we call ‘vendor agnostic’ solutions are growing in popularity, as end users are becoming more comfortable with IP,” says Cox. “These have specifically been designed to integrate products from multiple different manufacturers, allowing people to select best-in-breed hardware for the job, without being tied to a particular manufacturer. ‘Vendor agnostic’ solutions accounted for 52% of revenues in 2018 and will continue to take market share from ‘single vendor’ solutions in the short to mid-term.”

The rise of 4K is also sustaining the broadcast control market, albeit indirectly. “By and large, broadcast control systems are not concerned with content resolution, but higher bandwidth requirements force a choice between quad 3G-SDI, 12G-SDI and IP architectures.” says Cox. “4K is therefore one of the drivers towards IP adoption, opening the door for more complex and expensive broadcast control solutions. 18% of broadcast control installations were 4K in FY18.”

Based on direct feedback from vendors and component suppliers, the 38-page professional broadcast control market report provides quantification of global sales revenues for broadcast control solutions. It also includes five-year market forecasts, a technology review, which includes 4K and IP, the split between ‘vendor agnostic’ and ‘single vendor’ systems and an assessment of the competitive landscape.

For further details or to make a purchase, please contact Matthew Ledgerwood via matthew.ledgerwood@futuresource-hq.com

About the author

Adam Cox

Adam Cox is Senior Analyst at Futuresource Consulting and is responsible for researching and reporting on technology trends across the imaging, pro video and collaboration market categories.

Adam is also heavily involved in work looking at end users, service providers across the corporate markets and in addition to this, works on tracking and examining the collaboration, wireless presentation and conferencing equipment sales channels.

Adam joined Futuresource in 2006 working on broad range of market tracking, analytical and strategic pro broadcast AV Projects. He soon went onto lead the broadcast equipment team covering the full broadcast production chain from acquisition to content delivery. Adam holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Film and Television Studies.