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IPTV NEEDS A FULL OFFENSIVE STRATEGY
Nov 13, 2008 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) --
(Full text of a statement. Contact details below.)
MEDIA RELEASE PR32640 IPTV Needs a Full Offensive Strategy
SINGAPORE, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
- 22.4 Million IPTV Subscribers Expected in Asia-Pac by 2013
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Global IPTV deployments to date would suggest that a
half-hearted approach to IPTV services has not been effective.
Many service providers feel the urge to launch IPTV services as
a defensive strategy to increase their "n-play" offerings with
one more service.
Frost & Sullivan research analyst Adeel Najam believes that
IPTV requires a full-throttle implementation to really
take-off. "As the broadcasting and pay-TV industry is uncharted
territory for most telecom players, telcos will need to
penetrate the market with an offensive approach, complete with
a content acquisition strategy, to successfully attract cable
or satellite TV subscribers," he says.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http:/
www.communicationservices.frost.com), IPTV Business Case,
reveals that the IPTV subscriber base in Asia-Pacific --
covering 13 countries -- reached 4.1 million in 2007 and
estimates this to reach 22.4 million by end-2013, at a CAGR
(compound annual growth rate) of 32.7 percent (2007-2013).
Of the 13 countries, eight had commercial IPTV services in
2007, while the rest are conducting trials for expected
deployments from 2009 onwards.
If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides
service providers, vendors/manufacturers, end users, and other
industry participants with an overview of the Asia-Pacific IPTV
services market, then send an e-mail to Sarah Lourdes at
sarah.lourdes@frost.com, with your full name, company name,
title, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address. Upon
receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to
you by e-mail.
Asia-Pacific accounted for about a third of the global IPTV
subscriber base last year. Apart from South Korea, which does
not have true IPTV service, the top two Asia-Pac countries by
subscribers as of end-2007 are Hong Kong with 24.9 percent
(1.02 million subscribers) of the region's IPTV subscriber base
and China with 22.7 percent (0.93 million).
Hong Kong has the highest household IPTV penetration rate at
45.3 percent, and is the only market where IPTV dominates the
pay-TV industry with a 46.7 percent subscriber market share in
2007. Cable TV controls 41 percent of Hong Kong's 2.18 million
pay-TV subscriber market, while satellite DTH (direct-to-home)
services hold the remaining 12.3 percent.
With only a handful of successful IPTV roll-outs --- Hong
Kong's PCCW, which launched its IPTV service in 2003, being one
of the few in the world -- and EBITDA (earnings before
interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margins still in
the red for most, if not all, IPTV service providers, critics
argue that the business case for IPTV does not exist and payday
is too long a wait.
Najam, however, believes that it is a case of unrealistic
expectations. "A long payback period is not unique to IPTV
services, but is the case for all pay-TV services," he says,
adding that cumulative payback periods of over seven years are
the norm rather than the anomaly due to the intensive capital
expenditure required for infrastructure build up and content
acquisition.
According to Najam, IPTV service is a must for operators
with broadband speeds upwards of 10Mbps in order to fully
optimise bandwidth capacity.
"Service providers with high-speed broadband transmission
networks have the competitive advantage in deploying IPTV
services as they can leverage their networks to offer bandwidth
intensive services like high-definition TV (HDTV)," says
Najam.
"The first line of attack for any fixed-network operator to
realistically transform into a multi-play service provider
offering voice, data and video services is by converting its
existing broadband subscribers," he adds. "This will ensure
lower subscriber churn rates and increase operator revenues and
ARPU (average revenue per user) through service bundling."
The competitive advantage of IPTV over cable and satellite
TV services is the ability to provide viewers with a richer
viewing experience through innovative and interactive
value-added services such as network-based time-shift TV,
personal video recording, video-on-demand, and even
Internet-based services like online bookings, online network
games and online banking.
Najam, however, points out that content is critical for IPTV
to succeed as consumers understand only the 'TV' element of
IPTV. "Content exclusivity is a definite advantage, although
not a prerequisite," he says.
"Acquiring broadcast rights to popular content such as live
sporting events and premium broadcast channels requires huge
investments which can take time to recoup," adds Najam.
Over time, wider deployment of IPTV is expected to increase
competition in the pay-TV industry and encourage the
introduction of innovative value-added services and production
of local content. "We expect this to eventually reduce the
overall cost of multi-play services and boost uptake of IPTV,"
Najam concludes. "In some cases we also expect governments and
regulators to create a level playing field between various
technology platforms in terms of content ownership, which would
give the industry a fillip."
The IPTV Business Case study is part of the Communication
Services Growth Partnership Service program, which also
includes research in the following markets: WAN services,
enterprise mobility, online content services, user-generated
content (UGC), social networking, broadband access technology,
telecom services, managed and hosted services, and network
transformation case studies. All research services included in
subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and
industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive
interviews with market participants. Analyst interviews are
available to the press.
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Contact:
Sarah Lourdes
Corporate Communications - Asia Pacific
P: +603.6207.1030
E: sarah.lourdes@frost.com SOURCE: Frost & Sullivan
CONTACT: Sarah Lourdes,
Corporate Communications - Asia Pacific of Frost &
Sullivan,
603.6207.1030,
sarah.lourdes@frost.com
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