DETROIT – Cadillac will be the first automaker to offer live satellite TV as an accessory option through authorized dealers throughout the United States. Both KVH TracVision A5 and DIRECTV service will be available on the Escalade SUV.
Passenger entertainment is now among the most popular automotive accessories on the market today, with more than one-third of 2004 model year SUVs and minivans sold in the US equipped with in-vehicle video screens, according to J D Power & Associates, Telematics Updates reports.
Industry analyst Frost & Sullivan projects that by 2011, more than 36 million automobiles in the US will be equipped with video systems and of these, more than 3 million vehicles will be equipped with mobile satellite TV systems.
Robert Riedford, KVH’s director of business development for satellite products, says that KVH worked closely with Cadillac to develop sales and service programs, to ensure that dealers and customers receive the necessary support.
KVH CEO Martin Kits van Heyningen said that this accessory application at Cadillac is a major milestone in KVH?s overall plans to widely offer satellite TV to the light vehicle market.
