page twenty four www.csimagazine.com Cable & Satellite International september-october 2009 IPTV E urope has been storming ahead in the IPTV stakes for several years now, leaving the US and Asian markets far behind it. Figures published by the Broadband Forum in June 2009 show that Western Europe continues to be the leading IPTV region, with 11.3 million subscribers and an impressive year-over- year growth rate of more than 56%. Within this catchment area, France alone accounts for France on its own accounts for some 25% of IPTV subscribers worldwide. In France, de-regulation created the competition, choice of services and one-stop bundles that created the awareness and subsequent penetration of the consumer market for IPTV and other services. Eastern Europe is not far behind with a 21% adoption pace, and about 1.1 million subscribers signed up to IPTV. As a result of this growth, the 12.5 million or so European IPTV subscribers accounted for almost 10% of the continent's pay TV market in 2008. Analysts forecast anywhere between 71.6 million and 100 million subscribers worldwide, by 2012, and Screen Digest predicts that Europe will account for over 22 million of these. While IPTV has made it possible for telcos to get in the pay TV business, and round out their triple play bundle to the consumer, the market is still embryonic and evolution in terms of technology and market dynamics are still far from set. Nevertheless, growth rates are slowing somewhat; despite the continued rise in IPTV subscriptions, analyst firm Frost & Sullivan issued a revised forecast at the beginning of 2009, predicting that growth would now be closer to 15%, instead of the 25% initially predicted in the next three years. The widely held view is that operators need to look beyond bundling and over-the- top (OTT) content in order to sustain the business model going forward. Bundling strategies, and beyond Bundling has so far been the main foundation for building market share. “There is no way that IPTV would have grown as fast without the triple play bundling. It is a very good way, but also very costly, to quickly get new subscribers. The other option to quickly get new subscribers is the traditional TV operator way to get exclusive content. Long term, neither of these strategies is key for profitability. Operators need to generate additional revenues from their subscribers to be able to generate profit from the huge investments. Continuous focus on ARPU growth and new content and services will be key for long- term success,” argues Michael Lantz, CEO of Accedo Broadband. As Ronald Brockmann, MD for Europe at ActiveVideo puts it: “IPTV will have a larger and larger market share, but OTT video may also play an important role as broadband infrastructures improve. The question will be whether 'closed network' IPTV will be the dominant form or whether OTT, perhaps combined with hybrid terrestrial/ satellite/cable broadcast reception, becomes a serious alternative. This depends on various factors such as quality of service, Conditional Access and support for broadband-connected devices such as TVs.” This is very much the view held by Alan Delaney, IPTV business development director for EMEA & APAC at Tandberg. “The market requirements are continuing to evolve and you are seeing a more complex set of deliverables being demanded including hybrid, increasing video on demand capabilities as well as a greater awareness of OTT features - Facebook, Twitter, RSS support etc”. Frost & Sullivan's Yiru Zhong believes that IPTV has further room to evolve. “A disappointing IPTV performance is not the end of the road for telecom incumbents, but it has spurred new service creation and more innovative business models across the value chain. As end user media consumption patterns change, both telcos and broadcasters face a window of opportunity to invest and/or collaborate to meet the evolving user demand.” This view is shared by Ian Walker, director of sales and marketing for EMEA payTV at EchoStar Europe. Walker points out that for telcos the provision of video over broadband was seen as a defensive play against cable TV operators offering telephony over cable and also as a driver for uptake of broadband subscription. Tandberg's Delaney believes that telecoms and broadband providers can see a real opportunity to lead a revolution in television by delivering a much more personalised experience, something that IPTV facilitates. As a result, the impact of IPTV will grow during the next decade, he argues. European IPTV has been successful in terms of building up subscriber numbers but revenues remain elusive, and with growth rates slowing Farah Jifri looks at lessons learned from European IPTV deployments so far and asks what’s in store for the sector in the coming decade Euro IPTV under the spotlight
5
Embed
Euro IPTV under the spotlight · EXPERIENCE PURE IPTV SUPPORT Amino is the independent pure IPTV specialist – we live and breathe IPTV for over 800 customers in 80 countries and
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
page twenty four www.csimagazine.com Cable & Satellite International september-october 2009
IPTV
Europe has been storming ahead in
the IPTV stakes for several years
now, leaving the US and Asian
markets far behind it. Figures published by
the Broadband Forum in June 2009 show
that Western Europe continues to be the
leading IPTV region, with 11.3 million
subscribers and an impressive year-over-
year growth rate of more than 56%.
Within this catchment area, France alone
accounts for France on its own accounts
for some 25% of IPTV subscribers
worldwide. In France, de-regulation created
the competition, choice of services and
one-stop bundles that created the
awareness and subsequent penetration
of the consumer market for IPTV and
other services.
Eastern Europe is not far behind with a
21% adoption pace, and about 1.1 million
subscribers signed up to IPTV.
As a result of this growth, the 12.5
million or so European IPTV subscribers
accounted for almost 10% of the
continent's pay TV market in 2008.
Analysts forecast anywhere between 71.6
million and 100 million subscribers
worldwide, by 2012, and Screen Digest
predicts that Europe will account for over
22 million of these.
While IPTV has made it possible for
telcos to get in the pay TV business, and
round out their triple play bundle to the
consumer, the market is still embryonic and
evolution in terms of technology and market
dynamics are still far from set. Nevertheless,
growth rates are slowing somewhat; despite
the continued rise in IPTV subscriptions,
analyst firm Frost & Sullivan issued a
revised forecast at the beginning of 2009,
predicting that growth would now be closer
to 15%, instead of the 25% initially
predicted in the next three years.
The widely held view is that operators
need to look beyond bundling and over-the-
top (OTT) content in order to sustain the
business model going forward.
Bundling strategies, and beyond
Bundling has so far been the main
foundation for building market share. “There
is no way that IPTV would have grown as
fast without the triple play bundling. It is a
very good way, but also very costly, to
quickly get new subscribers. The other
option to quickly get new subscribers is the
traditional TV operator way to get exclusive
content. Long term, neither of these
strategies is key for profitability. Operators
need to generate additional revenues from
their subscribers to be able to generate
profit from the huge investments.
Continuous focus on ARPU growth and new
content and services will be key for long-
term success,” argues Michael Lantz, CEO
of Accedo Broadband.
As Ronald Brockmann, MD for Europe
at ActiveVideo puts it: “IPTV will have a
larger and larger market share, but OTT
video may also play an important role as
broadband infrastructures improve. The
question will be whether 'closed network'
IPTV will be the dominant form or whether
OTT, perhaps combined with hybrid
terrestrial/ satellite/cable broadcast
reception, becomes a serious alternative.
This depends on various factors such as
quality of service, Conditional Access and
support for broadband-connected devices
such as TVs.”
This is very much the view held by Alan
Delaney, IPTV business development
director for EMEA & APAC at Tandberg.
“The market requirements are continuing to
evolve and you are seeing a more complex
set of deliverables being demanded
including hybrid, increasing video on
demand capabilities as well as a greater
awareness of OTT features - Facebook,
Twitter, RSS support etc”.
Frost & Sullivan's Yiru Zhong believes
that IPTV has further room to evolve. “A
disappointing IPTV performance is not the
end of the road for telecom incumbents, but
it has spurred new service creation and
more innovative business models across the
value chain. As end user media
consumption patterns change, both telcos
and broadcasters face a window of
opportunity to invest and/or collaborate to
meet the evolving user demand.”
This view is shared by Ian Walker, director
of sales and marketing for EMEA payTV at
EchoStar Europe. Walker points out that for
telcos the provision of video over
broadband was seen as a defensive play
against cable TV operators offering
telephony over cable and also as a driver
for uptake of broadband subscription.
Tandberg's Delaney believes that
telecoms and broadband providers can
see a real opportunity to lead a
revolution in television by delivering a
much more personalised experience,
something that IPTV facilitates. As a
result, the impact of IPTV will grow
during the next decade, he argues.
European IPTV has been successful in terms of buildingup subscriber numbers but revenues remain elusive, andwith growth rates slowing Farah Jifri looks at lessonslearned from European IPTV deployments so far and askswhat’s in store for the sector in the coming decade
Euro IPTV under thespotlight
24_26_28_Euro_IPTV.qxd 13/08/2009 15:41 Page 2
EXPERIENCE PURE IPTV SUPPORT
Amino is the independent pure IPTV specialist – we live and breathe IPTV for over 800 customers in 80 countries and offer the most experienced and responsive customer support in the market.
Our long-standing, highly experienced technical support staff have the talent to solve complex issues quickly – not just take calls and log tickets. And our vast integration expertise and close partner relationships means we have the pure IPTV experience to keep your operation performing reliably, quickly and profitably.
When you choose to partner with Amino, you can be assured that our support goes beyond our world-famous set-top boxes to help drive your business strategies, partnerships and much more. Our IPTV support delivers the long-term focus, commitment and vision your business needs to thrive – so get in touch today to learn more.
On-demand solutionsAmino – Global HeadquartersAmino Communications Limited Buckingway Business Park Anderson Road, Swavesey Cambridge CB24 4UQ United Kingdom
page twenty six www.csimagazine.com Cable & Satellite International september-october 2009
IPTV
According to Walker, those operators who
open their networks and platforms to third-
party service providers as opposed to
offering 'walled-garden' services will be the
only survivors - if not the winners. “Co-
operation in the provision of
complementary multimedia content and
service, and the embracing of micro-billing
and pay-per use impulse revenue will be the
order of the day,” he says.
As cable operators start to offer higher
and higher peak bandwidth through
DOCSIS 3.0, as well as voice, Thierry
Boudard, director of marketing of video
service platforms at Thomson thinks that we
will see telcos bundling mobile and 3G
services and move to quad-play, which will
provide them with an advantage that many
cable companies cannot match.
Mobility will also be an important part of
IPTV development, according to Tandberg's
Alan Delaney. He believes that as HSPA
Evolution delivers upwards of 21Mbps and
LTE makes 150+Mbps broadband possible
over cellular networks, mobile broadband
will have a significant impact on the
multimedia environment. This will also
unlock the true potential for fixed/mobile
service convergence that operators have so
long promised.
Impact on wider TV industry
IPTV is now a serious competitor where it
didn't exist at the beginning of the decade.
IPTV has acted as a bit of a wake-up call
to innovate services, according to Steve
Farmer, strategy and business development
director at Motorola Home & Networks
Mobility. “The 'choice' offered by IPTV, the
potential to deliver content in an all-IP
environment, making it easier to deliver,
share, etc means that the traditional pay-TV
providers are having to look beyond
delivering TV to the lounge and in more
formats,” he argues.
But it is still a small distribution
technology and it's not economical to
launch new pay TV channels just for IPTV,
according to Accedo’s Lantz. “I think that
the main impact from IPTV on pay TV is
the consumer awareness for new TV
services such as catch-up TV and video
on demand that telcos have created with
their marketing communication.
Consumers have accepted the new
features and now demand this from all
operators. This leads to a change in
viewing behaviour among consumers and
thus also the overall pay TV business.”
Thierry Fautier, director of telco solutions
at Harmonic, echoes these sentiments.
“Telcos are true game changers and despite
initially struggling they have re-shaped the
payTV market in many regions and are also
keeping operators of other services on their
toes. We are now seeing both cable and
satellite operators scrambling to offer on-
demand services; an example would be the
acquisition of ISPs by Sky to allow it to
bundle services,” he notes.
In this sense, satellite providers are
increasingly harnessing hybrid networks in
the shape of broadband IP to enable
interactive services.
Cable operators are not resting on their
laurels by any means in the face of this
push towards a more IP-centric service
offering by their telco and satellite
competitors. As Brockmann explains
IPTV's ability to offer greater
personalisation of services is forcing
operators of across the board - whether
cable, satellite or DTT providers - to re-
think their approaches.
“To compete with IPTV's native support
for broader content libraries as well as on-
demand services, you're seeing cable
companies expanding their product
offerings. There's also a lot of competitive
response among satellite and DTT
broadcasters, who will need to look at
hybrid combinations with OTT delivery of
content,” he says.
IPTV service providers face the same
challenges - fighting for customers,
improving services and lowering costs,
according to Farmer. “So investments
should remain in expanding addressable
markets through broadband investment
and use of new compression like MPEG-4.
Also ARPU through introduction of HDTV,
and novel services like 'catch-up TV' will
really drive loyalty.”
New decade, new services
In the longer term, for IPTV operators
looking ahead to how the industry will move
forward, Tandberg's Delaney believes that
they will need to deliver a service offering
on a par with the best of what satellite and
cable has to offer - including HDTV, time-
shifting and multi-room capabilities. “They
should be looking to differentiate their
service through picture quality, the user-
interface and innovations like Internet TV on
the television and IPTV on the PC,” he says.
Thierry Fautier, Director of Telco
Solutions, Harmonic is of the view that 'true
convergence' of services will take full shape
over the next decade. “Content will be
available on any connected device, in any
region, supported by either advertising or
through subscription for premium content
(sports and movies). The content you have
recorded on your TV, directly from STB or
through PC or mobile, will be available on
any device, for streaming or download and
play experience,” he says.
Thomson's Boudard believes that
standardisation efforts will see a shift in the
landscape. “Manufacturers like Samsung
and LG are offering connected TVs, and
open standards like the Open IPTV Forum
will force the commoditisation of some
elements of the home network, strongly
impacting the STB, which may disappear.”
Selected Euro IPTV operators, 2009
Operator Subscribers
Iliad Free 2m+
Orange France 1.85m
Neuf Cegetel 850,000
KPN 835,000
Telecom Italia 688,00
Telefonica 604,800
Belgacom 589,000
TeliaSonera 509,000
Deutsche Telekom 448,000
Portugal Telecom 443,000
BT 433,000
Swisscom 139,000
Source: CSI; Various
24_26_28_Euro_IPTV.qxd 13/08/2009 15:42 Page 4
In association with Sponsored by
IT SECURITY CONFERENCE 2009
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
As the recession bites cyber crime and fraud are going up, as they have during every previous downturn. The problem is that IT and staffing budgets are being cut just when the threat is rising. We’ll discuss this and possible solutions to improve efficiency and effectiveness during the downturn.
This well established one-day conference looks at the challenges facing CTOs, CIOs, CISOs and other IT security professionals from across the financial services sector
Hear from leading figures in the industry
• Fred Piper, Royal Holloway• Andy Jones, Information Security Forum• Bob Evans, Serious Fraud Office• The Earl of Erroll, House of Lords, Science and Technology committe • Stephen Bonner, Barclays• Paul Wood, Aviva Group• Marcus Alldrick, Lloyd's of London
Time is tight and the markets are even tighter. Save time, money and energy by getting up-to-date information about the latest threats and solutions, while meeting your peers from financial institutions.
Strengthen existing relationships and ignite new ones through one-to-one meetings, lunchtime conversations and speed networking.