Australians are stepping up to IPTV and away from traditional video stores in a trend that will accelerate in 2013 thanks to "far more aggressive bundling strategies from telcos," according to Scott Lorsen, CEO of IPTV provider FetchTV.
Lorsen, in a Smart Office story, said he already believed video stores were on their way out but that "we've reached the tipping point" thanks to a "new wave of Internet based services such as FetchTV, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) TV and Telstra T-Box [that] are true substitutes for the video store."
Also contributing to the change is Foxtel, which "has been busy releasing a slew of Internet TV services for Samsung TVs, iPhone and iPad," the story said. Foxtel also added an interactive social mobile app to its lineup.
Neither Foxtel nor FetchTV revealed exact subscriber numbers, although Lorsen said FetchTV's growth is "very healthy--averaging 3.4 to 4 movie rentals from its on-demand service per week."
The big shift away from the store and to IPTV will only be strengthened as providers bundle TV, Internet and phone services because "people prefer one bill," Lorsen said.
"The battleground has shifted from a broadband led offer to a IPTV led one. Bundling also means cutting cost of the service compared to having 3-4 separate providers," he concluded.
For more:
- Smart Office carried this story
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