Maturing Asian markets, particularly in China and Korea, are driving the worldwide growth of IPTV, Multimedia Research Group (MRG) posits in a new report, "IPTV Global Forecast Through 2016."
According to the report, China now has the most IPTV subscribers, and that trend is expected to continue. The fastest growth, however, will happen in emerging markets like Latin America and the Middle East/Africa, "which today have relatively few IPTV services, but hold great promise in the future," a report abstract said.
The biggest hurdle for these countries is government interference. "Some countries in these regions are still navigating through government regulations that prohibit telcos from offering TV services or limit foreign investment in pay TV services," the abstract continued.
There is hope for IPTV growth in these areas, though, since Brazil and India, as leading examples, "have managed to eliminate these issues through legislation" and opened the door to IPTV services.
There's a good financial reason why these countries and the companies operating within them want to pursue IPTV. The report's revenue forecast predicts growth from $29 billion to $56.8 billion between 2012 and 2016.
For more:
- MRG provided this report abstract
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