In-Flight Entertainment Market Sees Increased Demand
By Steve Schuster | May 28, 2013
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Image credit: Thomas Hawk
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[Satellite TODAY 05-28-13] Airlines are set to spend $900 million on in-flight entertainment (IFE) content by 2018, up from $660 million in 2012, according to a newly released report from IMS Research.
IFE content has seen significant growth as airlines include wireless content streaming and portable solutions on board in response to consumer demand, the report said. The strongest growth in IFE will come from emerging markets in Asia-Pacific and Latin America, according to IMS.
The research firm said, more than 10,500 aircraft are equipped with at least one form of the IFE system, totaling 57.5 percent of all planes in airline fleets. But the report notes the penetration rate is set to expand to nearly two-thirds of all commercial aircraft by 2022. In 2012, North America led all regions with 32 percent of the market for IFE content in aircraft, followed by 26 percent in Asia-Pacific and 17 percent in Western Europe, according to the report.
“The increasing penetration of IFE on board airplanes will largely be driven by the growth of wireless IFE and connectivity, which some view as a low-cost alternative to embedded systems,” said Rose Yin, market analyst for aerospace electronics at IHS.
Overall, the satellite industry is expected to see a boon as in-flight entertainment and connectivity is expected to grow the use of satellite services in the next 10 years to reach $3.4 billion in revenues, according to a recently released report from Northern Sky Research.