IPTV numbers continued to edge up in the third quarter, the Broadband Forum reported, with some 2.8 million adds worldwide, taking total subscriber numbers to 41.9 million, a 7.3 percent increase in the quarter but a whopping 36.7 percent increase in the past year (roughly 11.3 million net adds).
Europe continues to lead the IPTV market with a 46 percent share, with France being the largest IPTV base on the continent. But China is quickly closing in on France's world-wide lead and is expected to become the single largest user of IPTV services this year, according to figures from Point Topic.
"IPTV has grown solidly in the last 12 months. Perhaps more importantly the number of markets and operators offering IPTV is increasing as high speed broadband spreads around the world," says John Bosnell, Senior Analyst at Point Topic. "With TV being increasingly routed over IP networks, the broadband connection is becoming an increasingly significant channel for video delivery. As a tool for customer retention, as a prime mechanism for increasing ARPU, and as a means of providing a distinctive offering to the competition, the bundling of IPTV with a broadband subscription and voice is very attractive to ISPs." See this release for more.