Demand for Digital Entertainment and Growing Internet Users to Drive Global Market for Internet TV

SAN JOSE, CA — Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (GIA) announces the release of a comprehensive global report on Internet TV markets. Global market for Internet TV is forecast to reach US$81.2 billion by the year 2017, primarily driven by factors such as soaring demand for digital media entertainment, growing penetration of high-bandwidth broadband services among households, and rapid proliferation of Internet enabled devices such as smart TVs, smartphones, and tablet PCs.

Television industry witnessed several revolutionary changes since the dawn of the new millennium, with “digitalization” being the most prominent among these changes. Growing demand for high-quality audio and video content among viewers, keen desire among television broadcasters to allow more channels in same spectrum and that too at lower costs, and stringent government mandates ordering termination of all analog TV broadcasts, have been driving increased adoption of digital television, thereby driving market for Internet TV. Although still a niche market segment, Internet Television has evolved into one of the fastest growing television broadcast mediums in recent times. Such has been the success of Internet TV that service revenue continued to grow at a robust pace even amidst the 2007-2009 economic recession. The demand for cheaper home entertainment against the backdrop of recession induced decline in personal income and household wealth and reduced ability to spend especially proved to be a catalyst for growth in Internet TV market during the period.

Introduction of Internet TV applications and programs is expected to drive the global Internet TV in the years to come. Intense competition among content developers and service providers is encouraging development of highly creative, entertaining and localized content, which will help attract more subscribers to this emerging digital television medium. As Internet TV continues to mature and starts featuring more personalized, interactive and on-demand entertainment, its opportunities galore for the market. Entry of several new service providers also augurs well for the market as it only intensifies competition in the marketplace, thereby driving innovation in terms of content and service delivery.

Rapid proliferation of Internet enabled devices such as Smart TVs, Smartphones, and Tablet PCs will only increase the number of people accessing their favorite TV programs over Internet, thereby driving demand for Internet TV. Increasing bandwidth speeds, thanks to successful rollouts of fiber-based high-capacity broadband connections will additionally boost market prospects for iPTV, as high bandwidth network enables seamless transmission of high quality live television content over the Internet. Improvement in Quality of Service, reduction of deployment times, introduction of innovative service packages and competitive pricing will be critical for Internet TV to gain mass market adoption.

As stated by the new market research report on Internet TV, the United States continues to remain the largest regional market for Internet TV, accounting for a majority share in the total service revenue generated for global market. Asia-Pacific on the other hand is the fastest growing regional market for Internet TV with service revenue from the region waxing at a CAGR of about 59.71% over the analysis period. Growing consumer affluence, increasing penetration of internet enabled devices such as smartphones, connected TV sets, and Tablet PCs, fast improving broadband penetration levels and soaring demand for high-quality premium TV content are primary factors driving iPTV adoption in the region. Growth in Asia-Pacific is primarily led by China and South Korea.

Major players in the marketplace include AOL, Inc., BT Plc, Boxee, Inc., Channel 5 Broadcasting Ltd., BBC, Cable News Network (CNN), China Telecom Corporation Limited, Comcast Corporation, NBC Universal, Channel 4 Television Corporation, Fox News Channel, Google TV, Hulu, Microsoft Corporation, RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Ltd., British Sky Broadcasting Group plc, Vivendi SA, and Canal Plus Group.

The research report titled “Internet TV: A Global Strategic Business Report” announced by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, growth drivers, issues, service introductions, mergers, acquisitions, and other strategic industry activities. Market estimates and projections are presented in US$ for major geographic markets such as US, Canada, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World.