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Global IPTV Market to Show 64% Subscriber Growth in 2008, Says Gartner

6:55 am on October 12, 2008 | Category: Telecom Services, Television, Web Services

Worldwide subscriptions to IPTV services are on track to reach 19.6 million at the end of this year, up 64% from December 2007, according recent research by Gartner analysts.

IPTV revenue, meanwhile, is expected to increase 93.5% this year, to reach $4.5 billion at the end of December. But researchers note that the IPTV market is becoming significantly more competitive, especially as strictly web-based video portals like YouTube and Joost challenge subscription-based services with their ever-expanding libraries of user-generated video content.

“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,” according to Gartner research director, Elroy Jopling.

“Before 2008, the IPTV operators’ emphasis had been to spread their footprint and effectively provide a ‘me too’ solution to cable and satellite,” Jopling explained, noting that “in the future, especially in the developed markets, we will see an emphasis on innovation and differentiated pay-TV services.”

By the end of this year, 1.1% of households worldwide will receive subscription-based IPTV service through a set-top box, according to Gartner. Researchers expect this number to grow to 2.8% by 2012.

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