The number of IPTV subscribers will reach nearly 60 million worldwide by year-end 2011, spurred by both aggressive and reactionary telco tactics, according to a new report from Parks Associates.
The new IPTV: From Quadruple Play to Multiplay report, which provides forecasts and analyses for the worldwide IPTV market, predicts television choices for European consumers in particular will expand greatly in the next several years, due to a growing number of IPTV providers per country, a surge in digital terrestrial offerings, and a resurgence of cable providers in certain markets.
While Asia has established solid growth to date, the Parks Associates’ study finds that certain regulations may bar IPTV providers from offering truly differentiated content. Finally, North American growth, spurred by major Tier 1 providers, will reach solid numbers by the end of the forecast period.
“On a global scale, the IPTV experience is going to provide widely-varying levels of success and challenges,” said Kurt Scherf, Parks Associates’ vice president and principal analyst. “European incumbents are being encouraged now to enter non-traditional markets, and this has spurred not only growth of multi-channel television delivery, but a whole new level of reliance on residential gateways and the beginnings of truly converged communications services. Asian markets have, in many cases, the necessary infrastructure to support incredible television experiences, but providers may struggle to truly differentiate their offerings from cable competitors. Finally, the North American model for telcos is going to have to shift very quickly from a defensive to an offensive posture for Tier 1 providers to establish a foothold and actually build revenue per subscriber.”http://www.parksassociates.com
