Broadcast Switchers Market Analysis By Product (Master Control Switchers, Production Switchers, Routing Switchers), By Application (News Production, Post Production, Production Trucks, Sports Broadcasting, Studio Production) And Segment Forecasts To 2020

Industry Insights

The global broadcast switchers market is expected to witness growth due to increasing consumer demand for the broadcasting of live programs in HD formats such as sports events or music concerts. Broadcast switchers are an integral part of broadcasting and are used in film or video production to select or switch different audio or video signals. They are designed to support the emerging 4K digital video format. The global broadcast switchers market has witnessed strong growth in recent years owing to the operational ease in video transmission and broadcasting process. Enforcement of various government regulations relating to digitalization is expected to drive the market over the forecast period. For example, the ITU has mandated the conversion to digital television broadcasting due to its spectrum efficient transmission technology. According to research by the ITU in 2013, 55% of television were digital, and analog broadcasting is being swapped for technological advances worldwide.

The transition from analog to digital broadcasting, the rising number of digital channels, increasing adoption of HD worldwide, and increasing focus on production automation is expected to drive the broadcast switchers market. However, lack of standardization and the high cost of broadcasting devices such as cameras, lighting equipment, digital audio mixers, cables, converters, audio recorders, encoders, controllers, video conversion software, mobile video studios, and switchers among other devices may restrain broadcast switchers market growth. Increasing demand for emerging technologies such as 3D and 4K displays is expected to provide a significant growth opportunity for the global market.

Product Insights

The global broadcast switchers market can be segmented into products as master control switchers, production switchers, and routing switchers. Among these, routing switchers account for considerable market share due to their use in several application segments including, sports broadcasting, news production, places of worship, and conference rooms. Production switchers are expected to witness strong growth over the forecast period due to their rising demand in special effects broadcasting. Cable providers and broadcasters have invested heavily in broadcast switchers to enable simultaneous standard and high definition digital content.

Application Insights

Key application segments of broadcast switchers include sports broadcasting, news production, post-production, studio production, and production trucks. Studio production dominates the global market, and this trend is expected to continue over the forecast period owing to the rising demand for switchers especially in emerging markets of Asia Pacific and RoW. The sports segment is also an attractive application and is expected to witness strong growth over the forecast period. In the corporate sector, the benefits of employing HD include the reduced time required for broadcasting and easy access to digitally stored video assets, which result in savings on storage and maintenance.

Regional Insights

North America accounted for the largest share in the global broadcast switchers market owing to the increasing adoption of routing switchers in production trucks that help minimize power consumption and generate lower heat and noise. North American market growth is also fueled by increasing usage of production switchers across emerging application segments such as educational institutes, places of worship, or corporate conferences. The Asia Pacific broadcast switchers market is expected to witness strong growth over the forecast period owing to rapid digitalization in the region.

Competitive Insights

The global broadcast switchers market is dominated by a few select players that leverage technology products to gain a competitive advantage. Manufacturers offer high end, mid-end, and low-end versions of broadcast switchers. Size and configuration of the switchers factor their pricing. Vendors utilize customer preferences for smaller switchers capable of handling both SD and HD to increase sales. Key players in the market include Ross Video Ltd., Blackmagic Design Pty. Ltd., Snell Group, Grass Valley USA, LLC, Communitek Video Systems Inc., Panasonic Corporation, Broadcast Pix, Inc., Sony Electronics, Inc., FOR-A Company Ltd., Evertz Microsystems Ltd., Harris Broadcast, Miranda Technologies, Inc., Ikegami Electronics U.S.A. Inc., Pinnacle Systems Inc., New Tek Inc., and Utah Scientific, Inc.