In a recent report market research and analysis firm Gartner discusses its evidence that indicates that the PC market has settled to its lows; the decline has decelerated so much that the demand for PCs next year will be almost exactly the same as this year. However there’s news from Business Insider/eMarketer this weekend which suggests there is a new victim of the tablet onslaught: cable and broadcast TV.
Sony VAIO 2-in-1
Looking at some recent sales statistics for PCs, we know that desktop, notebook, and ultramobile shipments are on track for totalling 321.6 million by the end of 2013. Tablet shipments for the year are expected to reach 184.4 million. Gartner’s forecasts for 2014 see PC shipments being flat, totalling 321.4 million with tablets continuing their growth to 263.2 million by the end of next year. Those numbers show tablets growing without a negative impact on the PC market in 2014, which is interesting.
ASUS Transformer Book 2-in-1
Gartner analyst Tracy Tsai said that the PC’s decline will bottom out due to a better global economy and the impending introduction of keenly priced 2-in-1s. “The decline is at a much slower rate,” she said. “The global economy is stabilizing. Also, there will be more lower-cost, aggressively priced two-in-one (tablet with a keyboard) devices that are being launched in the second half of this year, which should help demand.”
American cable and broadcast networks heavily impacted by tablets?
Now it looks like the TV industry is falling victim to people watching streaming shows and sports events on their mobile devices, according to a report this weekend on Business Insider (BI). The site reported that it might be signs of the “death of the TV,” and quoted an analyst saying that “The pay-TV industry has reported its worst 12-month stretch ever”.
TV ratings are said to have been falling for years and plotting viewing numbers of major sporting events reflects this trend. BI also says that for the first time ever major provider cable subscribers in the US will drop below 40 million.
However the decline of cable hasn’t been reflected in boosted broadband subscription sales but mobile data and free Wi-Fi seem to be taking up the slack. With 57 cities in the US offering free Wi-Fi there’s less need for people in cities to get their own broadband.
