IPTV is struggling to make an impact on global markets, penetrating less than 2% of the world’s households and accounting for just 5% of the multichannel TV market by end 2009.
Research firm Informa Telecoms & Media says 10.3 million IPTV subscribers were added in 2009, bringing total subscriptions to 29.7 million by the end of the year, however the bulk of the growth came from emerging markets, and those where there is little competition from other multichannel TV services.
Principal analyst Rob Gallagher says Internet firms, media groups, and consumer electronics manufacturers are also increasingly interested in the technology , and blamed its sluggish uptake to-date on strong competition from established broadcast technologies.
Gallagher’s colleague Simon Murray told delegates at the firm ’s sixth IPTV World Forum the market has yet to define itself clearly, a theme that was picked up by other keynote speakers at the event, IPTV-news.com reports.
Richard Halton, director of the BBC’s Project Canvas scheme, agreed with Gallagher’s views in his keynote, telling delegates that mainstream media is beginning to understand the potential of IPTV.
He said several big-name partners were added to the project in 2009, including Talk Talk, Channel 4, Channel Five, and Arqiva, as part of talks with 800 stakeholders during the year.
The BBC Trust estimates that Project Canvass will drive the market for connected TV devices in the UK by 70% in 2015.