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Thursday, 01 November 2007 |
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EMEA leads the way but the world is catching up, says new forecast.
A new set of forecasts released yesterday by analysts Canalys point to a global market of IPTV users reaching nearly 40mn in 2010. That’s a staggering increase on the 2006 figure of less than 4mn.
The figures EMEA accounting for 38% of the market by 2010, with North American numbers climbing to 31% (up from 9% in 2006). Asia-Pacific subscribers are forecast total more than 25% of the world market by 2010.
In Europe, according to Canalys VP, Alessandra Fitzpatrick, “good, early uptake has been driven by a number of factors, notably low broadband prices, the prevalence of bundling low-cost IPTV service with broadband/telephony packages and limited competition from cable operators.”
The research singles out Verizon and AT&T as drivers of IPTV in North America, but Fitzpatrick cautions that in Asia “the regulatory environment is restricting development. The IPTV markets in China, Japan and South Korea are heavily constrained at present, although the 2008 Beijing Olympics may prompt Chinese authorities to accelerate plans.”
Overall, Fitzpatrick notes, “IPTV will be a financial loss leader for many providers over the next five years when the costs involved with rolling out and evolving services are factored in, but if telecom operators are to retain their position as primary providers of consumer communication services, this may be a price they need to pay. It is difficult to see how the majority of IPTV providers will be able to generate significant profit from services in the near term, especially when the need to be price-competitive is considered.”
With these caveats, the headline numbers suggest that telcos in Europe and beyond have it all to play for in terms of IPTV. On top of existing broadband investments, they face further expenditure on developing services and securing content; fortunately their relative financial stability just now makes that possible, although not without risk.
Jim Chalmers
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