Optimistic Prospects for IPTV Growth

SAN JOSE: Research firm MRG has issued a "conservative and optimistic" assessment of the global IPTV market, projecting a growth in subscribers from 26.9 million this year to more than 81 million in 2013.

In the same period, MRG says, combined (last-mile) CapEx revenue plus service revenue will grow from $9.7 billion to $25.6 billion. "The relatively strong market in 2008 caused CapEx transactions to flourish through the end of 2008," says Jose Alvear, an analyst at MRG. "That anticipatory wave of orders kept vendors’ pipelines full all the way through 2008, but in Q1 2009, many IPTV vendors reported single-digit reduction in revenues, which is reflected in our flattened 2009 forecast."

Positive indicators include growth in the U.S. market, at Verizon and AT&T, the large number of new IPTV operators in Eastern Europe and other emerging markets, such as Colombia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Montenegro and the Russian federation.