iptv

Introduction:

The television set is a staple in human history and has made advancements throughout the decades like no other product. The evolution of technology has changed our TV sets from black and white to color and from a single channel to an innumerable amount. The introduction of cable television was a milestone because it showed many people things they never seen before. Different channels available at the click of a button opened the world up to news from other parts of the world, music and sports thrived on radio but once placed on television it was taken to another level. There is another innovation that is taking place in the television industry that can possibly be the future of how we watch TV. This is called Internet Protocol Television (IPTV).

“IPTV converts a television signal into small packets of computer data like any other form of online traffic such as email or a web page” (What is IP Television, 2006) . There are many different definitions for Internet Protocol TV; an official definition approved by the International Telecommunications Union, “IPTV is defined as multimedia services such as television/video/audio/text/graphics/data delivered over IP based networks managed to provide the required level of quality of service and experience, security, interactivity and reliability”. Another is given by the Alliance Telecommunication Industry Solutions;

“IPTV is defined as the secure and reliable delivery to subscribers of entertainment video and related services. These services may include, for example, Live TV, Video On Demand (VOD) and Interactive TV (iTV). These services are delivered across an access agnostic, packet switched network that employs the IP protocol to transport the audio, video and control sig...

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...a Research Group Inc., 2009)

Table 1 shows the growth of IPTV from 2009-2013 globally. In 2009 there were 28 million subscribers to the service and it is expected to grow to 83 million subscribers by the end of 2013. There was a compound annual growth of 31%

Table 2. (Multimedia Research Group Inc., 2009)

Table 2 shows the increase in IPTV revenue from 2009-2013. Revenue rose from $12 billion to $38 billion. The compound annual growth rate is 33%.

Europe and Asia lead globally in terms of overall subscribers while Europe and North America lead the industry in terms of service revenue generated.

Table 3. (Multimedia Research Group Inc., 2009)

Table 3 shows the growth in number of IPTV subscribers from 2009-2013. The table is divided into four regions Asia, Europe, North America and Rest of the World (ROW). Table 4 shows the regional growth in service revenue.