Opportunities, strategies for European IPTV operators

Analysys says that European telcos must develop IPTV strategies tailored to local markets if they want IPTV to be a revenue earner rather than simply a product differentiator. In the disparate and complex European market of broadcasting and telecom that is different from the U.S., Analysys' Dr. Windsor Holden suggests that markets with high broadband and low pay-TV penetration offer the greatest scope for early IPTV adoption. In saturated pay-TV markets, operators should focus on exploiting IPTV's unique selling points. Holden also recommends that in an environment in which both basic and premium multi-channel TV platforms are well established, partnership with an existing TV platform operator makes more sense.

For more on Europe's IPTV potential:
- read Analysys' press release

PLUS: Telecommunications Magazine Online's survey of IPTV service provider expectations found that 50 percent of respondents in North America and 45 percent internationally were concerned about how to make a realistic and profitable business case for deployment. With IMS as the supporting architecture, 28 percent of North American telcos gave IPTV a top priority while, outside North America, 20 percent ranked IPTV deployments a top priority. While operators indicated service availability as the top key to success in providing IP video, providers based outside the U.S. ranked understanding customers video consumption habits/interests higher (48 percent) than North American operators (24 percent) did. Article (reg. req.)