Telco-delivered IPTV services will grow by an estimated 32% annually over the next six years to reach nearly 79mn subscribers globally by the end of 2014, according to new research from ABI Research, which finds that IPTV will lead the growth of pay-TV services worldwide during the period, at the expense of legacy formats.

Satellite and cable TV are among the oldest and most important pay-TV platforms in many countries, ABI Research adds, and will likely retain their footholds in those markets "for some time", although their growth rates are predicted to slow as IPTV, offering interactive bi-directional television, gets up to speed.

"Some telecom operators which are faced with thinning margins are deploying high-speed access networking technologies to challenge incumbent satellite and cable operators,” comments Serene Fong, industry analyst at ABI Research.  IPTV usage is forecast to be robust as the price of high-speed broadband falls and more users start adopting multimedia services.

“Usage will initially be concentrated in countries with established high speed Internet technologies such as France, the Netherlands, South Korea and Hong Kong," adds Ms. Fong.  "But as technology progresses and matures, developing countries such as China will rapidly catch up in subscription numbers.”  

However, while operators will continue to rollout IPTV as part of their multi-play strategies, the analyst cautions that, "While we expect to see greater momentum in the telco TV segment in the years to come, this new television alternative is unlikely to completely replace legacy pay television services immediately.”

Source: iptv-news.com