Report Tracks Migration of Small and Independent IPTV Operators to Multiscreen Video, Mobile TV and TV Everywhere

Google/Apple OS Race May Accelerate this Trend

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A new report from MRG, Inc. finds that small and independent Pay-TV Operators will introduce Multiscreen Video (MSV) and Mobile TV services by 2014, after introducing infrastructure upgrades and whole-home DVR, based on a survey sent to over 600 Operators and Vendors.

“All of the elements, from adaptive bit streaming to the widespread adoption of the tablet and smartphones to licensing rights, are in place for multiscreen to be a standard part of many Operators’ offerings within the next 3 years,” states Ken Pyle, Analyst for MRG, Inc. “Because multiscreen uses OTT (Over-the-Top), where video content can be watched on many smart devices both inside and outside of the home, you can understand why and how multiscreen service will start, and how quickly TV Everywhere will develop,” says Pyle.

Because of the fast acceptance of iPads and iPhones, Apple has now set the stage for its competition (mostly with Google) who wants to establish a quicker pace of hardware upgrades than was common in mobile just a few years ago. By profiling over 60 Vendors in the 3 important infrastructure areas of transcoding, security/authentication and on-demand servers, the report also provides a technical foundation for small Operators needing help getting started with TV Everywhere, second-screen or multiscreen services based on OTT services.

Lack of wireless spectrum was the biggest concern among surveyed Operators. “In our initial look, it appears as if the race to help independent Telcos with their multiscreen offerings is wide-open for the Vendor community,” said Pyle. “I suspect the root of this concern is that the larger carriers could be potential competitors with their 4G networks and could throttle the bandwidths of customers who didn’t take their video service.”

Of over 60 MSV Vendors profiled, included are Harmonic, ARRIS, Motorola Mobility, NDS Group, RGB, Nagravision, Verimatrix, Microsoft and many others.

“Migrating to Multiscreen Video & Mobile TV by Small and Independent Pay-TV Operators” (57-pages) is available in a printed English language edition for $1,495 USD, a PDF single-departmental license for $2,495 USD PDF; and is available free as part of MRG’s IPTV Tracking Service. For more information, or a corporate license, or to order the report, contact Rob Smith at 1-408-453-5553 or rsmith@mrgco.com.