Interactivity, competitive business models, and value-added services driving expansion of the digital lifestyle

Parks Associates analysts discuss the future of digital products and services at CONNECTIONS™

Dallas, TX  July 1, 2008 — Consumer demand for interactivity in entertainment and control at home is driving adoption in technology products and services, according to Parks Associates, which forecasts over 400 million households worldwide will have digital television services by 2012.

The market research firm’s analysts presented at CONNECTIONS™, June 24-26 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. The conference focused on access services, video delivery, online content services, advertising, digital health, digital media, and home systems.

Kurt Scherf, Vice President and Principal Analyst, highlighted key developments in advanced television services and discussed future areas of focus, including bandwidth issues and the “interactive experience” enabled by VoD, widgets, and advertising. Currently the lack of easy, high-quality connections between VoD services and the TV is a key inhibitor to the growth of the broadband VoD market. Parks Associates expects to see an increase in products and services aimed at connecting content to platforms in 2008 and beyond.

John Barrett, Director, Research, highlighted recent findings from National Technology Scan 2008, a telephone survey of U.S. households. “In the past year, approximately 45 million households purchased a mobile phone, 29 million purchased a digital camera, and 27 million purchased an MP3 player,” Barrett said. “Portable devices are clearly capturing the consumer's attention right now more so than stationary devices."

Michael Cai, Director, Broadband and Gaming, spoke about the changes in the broadband market. He predicted the next competitive cycle will center on bundles and value-added services. “Telcos will focus on multiplay bundles and value-added services, forcing a response from cable MSOs,” Cai said. “The increased importance of customer retention will lead to new and more intense rounds of loyalty programs and other customer retention tactics.”

Bill Ablondi, Director, Home Systems, highlighted growth in home systems, stressing their expansion into broader markets, including areas such as multiple-dwelling units, which represent new opportunities for digital systems and services. Also, remote home monitoring services offered through telco/MSO service providers will revolutionize the traditional home security business as broadband services disrupt yet another business model. Parks Associates forecasts that self-monitored households will nearly triple to more than 6 million by 2012.

Harry Wang, Director, Research, discussed personal health solutions. Parks Associates predicts this space will achieve $2.5 billion in U.S. device and service revenues by 2012. “There are significant barriers to overcome, but consensus is forming that technology can help empower consumers and health professionals in achieving better care at lower costs,” Wang said. “Now the technology industry must work with the health community to extend adoption to a broader patient population and convince the health ecosystem of the value of personal health technologies.”

Other areas covered at CONNECTIONS™ included GPS, WiMAX, digital advertising, and visual networking. Keynote speakers included executives from AOL, Cisco Systems, Comcast, Hewlett-Packard, and Panasonic. The event hosted close to 800 executives to examine the converging digital living industries. The thirteenth-annual CONNECTIONS™ will be held June 2-4, 2009, at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

Visit www.connectionsconference.com for complete agenda. For information about CONNECTIONS™, contact sales@parksassociates.com or call 972-490-1113.

About CONNECTIONS™

CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase, hosted by leading research firm Parks Associates with support from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA®), is the premier executive event focused on the market developments and growth factors for advanced digital lifestyle solutions.

This unique research-driven executive conference and showcase delivers insight and recommendations for new business models and opportunities in digital media/content, connected consumer electronics, broadband and value-added services, and home systems.

For information about CONNECTIONS™, contact sales@parksassociates.com or call 972-490-1113.

For information on speaking, sponsoring, or attending, please visit www.connectionsconference.com.