IPTV Applications are a Battleground for Customer Loyalty

Traditional Media Provider Convergence (cable, telecom, satellite) and their role in delivering enhance IP based services via television

This Industry White Paper details a strategic guide inside the current market changes in the clash between the New Media Titans. This paper is intended to be a look at the industry direction over the next 24 months and to provide opportunities for industry participation and identify M&A opportunities.

The reference to the Battleground refers to one segment of the larger clash between the cable, telecommunications and satellite Service Provider industries which are actively building out and providing similar consumer service offerings which provide voice, video and data. Service Providers, primarily those with legacy telephony distribution networks, are utilizing IPTV technology for all or part of their video delivery system. The promise of this technology should include acceleration of their ability to deliver enhanced television services and change the way television is used by consumers. Traditional video Service Providers including satellite and cable companies have also deployed enabling technology that will expand their capabilities to deliver enhanced television services. While the long awaited promise of enhance interactive television appears to be reaching the tipping point, Service Providers face additional competition from the rise of alternative video sources such as online Internet delivery to PCs, mobile devices, and Internet enabled television sets as well as “over the top” video alternatives such as AppleTV, Xbox networks, and Sony’s PlayStation family of devices. As consumers weigh their options, Service Providers will need to evaluate not only the costs and benefits of providing enhanced television applications, but also the need to provide a minimum threshold level of applications in order to improve and maintain customer loyalty.

The Battleground for customer loyalty will increasingly be influenced not only by the technology deployed, but also by changes in regulatory policy, the competitive trends in the supply of content, and demographic changes in population. While our definition of IPTV utilized here is based on the utilization of Internet Protocol (“IP”) over an end to end network managed by a Service Provider, harnessing the broader potential of IP technology to enable new consumer products and services (video, voice, data) is still part of the vision of the overall competitive landscape. The question that must be answered relates to whether this technology can provide disruptive change within the Service Provider culture which has traditionally valued consistency, repeatability and stable financial returns over innovation for innovation sake. As with any new technology the early leaders may not necessarily be positioned to be the winners of tomorrow as the battle unfolds. These IPTV applications will generate opportunities for the smartest that capitalize and capture the loyalty of the public. Read how this battle will unfold and bring new products and players to the marketplace providing new business opportunities for early entrants.

Target Audience: Investment Bankers, Financial Institutions, Hedge Fund Managers, C-Level Corporate Executives, Business Development, Strategic Company Direction, Technologists, Ad Networks, Ad Revenue, Content Creators, Content Aggregators, Content Providers, Media Companies, Cable, Satellite, Telecommunications, Network Distribution, Networking Companies, QoS and QoE Equipment Providers, IPTV, ITV, Media Cache Farms, Network Groomers, Video Search Engines. Web Portals, Web Content Hosting