White-box vendors account for more than 80% of total sales of OTT (over the top) STBs (set-top boxes) in the China market, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
So far in 2013, monthly OTT STB sales in China average one million units, of which 700,000-800,000 have been offered by white-box vendors, the sources indicated.
China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) requires that OTT service providers obtain operating licenses issued by SARFT and vendors or suppliers of OTT STBs cooperate with licensed OTT operators for sale of such devices, the sources noted.
But white-box vendors are dominating the market because their devices are priced below CNY300 (US$49) and they work with operators of free Internet-based video services which do not have SARFT-issued licenses, the sources said.
Licensed OTT operators and OTT STB vendors generally hope SARFT can crack down on such white-box vendors, the sources indicated.
