17.3 million IPTV subscribers in Asia Pacific by 2010

Ovum RHK has published the results of a 14-country independent assessment of broadband deployments and service drivers in the Asia-Pacific region, with a specific focus on fiber-to-the-x (FTTx).

The result was based on interviews with major carriers in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, the study addresses fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), fiber-to-the-building (FTTB), digital subscriber line (DSL), cable modem termination system (CMTS), and wireless initiatives throughout the region. It was conducted jointly by Ovum RHK and the APAC FTTH Council.

“Ovum believes there will be over 195 million broadband subscribers in Asia-Pacific by the end of 2010,” said Lynn Hutcheson, Vice President, Communication Components at Ovum RHK. “Many operators indicated that content services were going to be a key component of their offerings. However, there are vast differences as to how each country regulates IPTV and content delivery over telecom infrastructures.”

I was able to correspond with David Kennedy, Ovum's Research Director (Telecoms - Asia Pacific) and got the following as well:

• There were 98 million broadband subscribers in Asia-Pacific region (including China and India) in December 2006.
• There were a total of 1.5 million IPTV services in the Asia Pacific in December 2006. This is lower than In-Stat's estimate of 2.7 million IPTV 2006 subscribers. This is probably due to differences in the definition of IPTV and markets included in their respective definition of the region.
• By IPTV, Ovum refers to ‘paid for’ television services offered to consumers by telecom operators and ISPs. According to Kennedy, "These services are usually provided using IPTV technology, but we use the term more widely to include services provided by those above using other technologies such as digital terrestrial television and satellite, often as a hybrid solution. They are sold as part of a bundled offering (typically including broadband access and fixed line telephony), or as a standalone service."
• Ovum excludes television services provided over the public Internet, often known as Internet or Web TV. They also exclude television services supplied by cable operators, satellite broadcasters, free-to-air digital television broadcasters, and free-to-air analogue television broadcasters.They also exclude video on-demand (VoD) services provided by telecom operators and others.
• Ovum projects 17.3 million IPTV subscribers in the region by December 2010.

The businesses that will be most affected by IPTV growth are those into DVD rental, Free to Air TV, and pay TV services. It will be interested to know how the business model of this segment shall evolve to survive this upcoming market changes.

IPTV to Make Big Gains in Asia

Competition between IPTV and cable/satellite TV is heating up in Asia, with IPTV poised to gain significant market share over the next several years, reports In-Stat. With the help of IPTV, incumbent telcos have the opportunity to fundamentally change their broadband customers' video service experience, from traditional video clip streaming to downloading and just plain watching TV.

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

• There were 2.7 million IPTV subscribers in Asia in 2006, and this number is expected to exceed 33 million by 2012.
• Total revenue from consumers of IPTV content broadcasted in Asia/Pacific will reach US$8 billon by 2012.
• Mature markets include Japan and Hong Kong, contributing to about 60% of the total Asia/Pacific subscriber population in 2006; these markets are expected to continue to lead Asia/Pacific in IPTV development.

Conditional access products and technologies are gaining ground due to this growth trend.