Cloud-based TV services, driven by IPTV, cable and satellite pay TV service providers, will grow from $120 million in 2013 to more than $750 million by 2017, according to a new report developed by the Multimedia Research Group.
In the report, "Cloud-Based TV Services for Pay-TV Operators," senior research Jose Alvear concludes that the cloud will prove to be a leveler in the competition to provide multiple pay TV services.
Cloud-based TV services allow operators to pay for services as they are using them, rather than buying equipment and software up front, with a heavy investment of time, employee resources and capital," Alvear wrote in a report excerpt.
This freedom to choose "can level the playing field between large and small operators and help them launch and modify their services quicker," he continued. "Additionally, the cloud can help operators lower their overall costs by decreasing their reliance on set-tops and are relying less on hardware upgrades and additional software licenses."
Of course the benefit of the cloud depends on the operator's perspective because, Alvear concludes, "cloud services have the ability to disrupt the pay TV technology market in many ways, by providing a more Web-like interface, allowing integrated multi-screen and OTT delivery and modernizing the operator network."
Alvear suggested that the key to cloud-based service success is that it is an evolutionary, not revolutionary, technology.
"It's a steady migration away from legacy hardware and software services," he wrote. "Although not every pay TV operator is likely to decide to scrap and entire legacy infrastructure or platform for the cloud, any operator can benefit today."
For more:
- MRG Research issued this report
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