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Friday, September 26, 2008

PTV subscriptions to grow 64 percent in 2008

The growth of IPTV is coming at a fast rate and most interestingly, Western Europe has the most IPTV subscribers while the US brings in the most revenue. Cited as contributing to this growth are platforms like You Tube, Hulu, an the BBC iPlayer. ""The biggest change since 2007 is the rapid advent of new entrants making inroads in consumer video consumption and placing greater demands on IPTV operators to innovate," said Gartner research director Elroy Jopling....Gartner defines IPTV as a managed broadband network which delivers high picture-quality television and video content to a user's TV set via a set-top box. Content delivered over the Internet or only to a computer is not included." This seems like an odd definer these days as You Tube can be accessed via Tivo and Netflix is accessed via Roku and other devices.

Essentially, IPTV opens up new channels of content to consumers. While lowering barriers of entry enables more content to be found, it doesn't necessarily mean that more content equates to better content. Ultimately, content remains king and its perceived value to the consumer is what drives usage. Enabling easy access and gaining awareness through promotion are key tactics to build viewership and ultimately monetize the content created.