In 2005, approximately 2.4 million people around the world used IPTV, according to a study from El Segundo, Calif.-based iSuppli. In the study, the firm predicted that the number of IPTV users worldwide would jump at a compound annual growth rate of 92.1 percent, topping off at 63.1 million users by 2010.
The iSuppli projections mean that IPTV may soon be a bona fide media competitor to the likes of traditional TV, cable and satellite offerings.
"The fight to capture the expanding base of IPTV subscribers will put telecom operators on a collision course with existing pay-TV market competitors and with a new class of broadband video portals as they rollout progressively more sophisticated offerings," iSuppli Vice President Mark Kirstein said.
According to the iSuppli study, the growth trajectory for the IPTV market should come in three phases, with basic service deployment leading the way, followed by value-added and interactive services and finally dramatic improvements in integration and interactivity.
Working from its predictions about the growth in users, analysts at iSuppli believe that total revenue generated from the IPTV subscriber base could exceed $27 billion in annual service revenue. Video services are expected to account for the largest share of the projected revenue pie.
Revenues from content licensing are expected reach $11 billion across the IPTV industry by 2010.
Precisely where the growth in IPTV will occur is something of a mixed bag, according to the iSuppli study. Asia is expected to have the most subscribers by the end of this year, keeping its lead through 2010. The Americas are projected to lead the way in average revenue per users.
In other words, although the Americas may lag behind in terms of total users, the region is expected to account for the bulk of IPTV dollars.
