Global IPTV homes to hit 70m by 2014
Global IPTV homes are forecast to more than double to 70 million by the end of 2014, up from 26 million at the end of last year.
According to a new forecast from Informa Telecoms & Media, revenues will also enjoy a boost, up from $4.6 billion in 2009 to $12.2 billion in 2014.
Despite this positive look ahead, just 5% of the world’s TV households are expected to subscribe to IPTV platforms by 2014, with just 13 countries predicted to have more than 1 million IPTV subscribers.
Informa says that much of the future IPTV growth will be in the Asia Pacific region, which will contribute 28 million of the 70 million total by 2014. The US is predicted to lose its 2009 top spot, finishing second in 2014 with 9.2 million IPTV homes.
Leading Europe will be France, although growth is expected to slow in the coming years as IPTV has concentrated on urban areas. It will have 5.8 million IPTV homes by 2014, said Informa, up from 4.8 million in 2009.
Towards the end of last year, research from Point Topic found that global IPTV growth remained strong in the second quarter of 2009 at 11%, reaching 26.9 million subscribers.
Europe continued to lead the IPTV success story, the research firm said, with 13.6 million subscribers, a 51% year on year increase.
At the start of 2009, meanwhile, In-Stat reported that despite the worldwide economic crisis, IPTV would continue to perform strongly – a prediction apparently borne out by the Point Topic figures.