New research says global pay-TV revenues for operators from IPTV, cable video, and satellite video services is forecast to top $250 billion in 2014, despite increased competition that likely will hold back subscription increases and the threat of increased adoption of over-the-top video delivery.
Infonetics Research said in its Video Services and Subscribers report that ARPU for telco IPTV services still is lower than ARPU for cable and satellite, but expects it to grow steadily over the next five years.
"Increased competition among video service operators will help keep monthly subscription fees in check, which will offset some of the growth expected from incremental revenue via video on demand, digital video recording, and 'start-over' services," said Infonetics Research's Jeff Heynen. "However, the biggest threat to revenue growth is the continued rise of online (over-the-top) viewing, where users can simply eliminate their monthly TV subscription in favor of streamed programming delivered over the Internet via sites like Hulu and YouTube, and aggregating by services such as Boxee."
Not surprisingly, the top two companies in terms of revenue in North America are Comcast and DirecTV, but the report says AT&T and Verizon are two companies in the U.S. adding video subscribers at a rapid clip, selling them on a combination of exclusive content, higher picture quality, and introductory rates that are below similar offerings from cable and satellite service providers.
For more:
- see this release
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