The U.K.'s Pace PLC (PIC.LN) surpassed Motorola Inc. as the
world's No. 1 seller of set-top boxes by number of units shipped
last year, helped by robust growth in North and South America,
according to market researcher IHS iSuppli.
Motorola remained the leader by revenue. The company split its
set-top box and smartphone operations--now operating as Motorola
Mobility Holdings Inc. (MMI)--from its business and networking
units at the beginning of this year.
Pace's 2010 set-top box shipments jumped 21% to 20.7 million
units, compared with Motorola's volume rising 4.2% to 19 million
units, according to iSuppli, a unit of IHS Inc. (IHS). Pace's
set-top box revenue rose 8.1% to $1.9 billion, while Motorola saw a
9.5% decline to $2.4 billion.
Pace's "high-volume deals such as selling boxes to Comcast" have
helped it take market share from rivals and has benefited from
fostering "new big-volume customers like Net Servicios in Brazil,"
IHS's Tom Morrod said.
Meanwhile, Motorola and Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and European
peers Pace and Technicolor (TCH.FR, TCLRY) all saw their average
selling prices decline between 2% to 12% last year. The U.S. brands
have sharply higher selling prices than their rivals across the
Atlantic.
-By Matt Jarzemsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2240;
matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com