IPTV growing faster in emerging markets

IPTV subscribers experienced strong growth in 2012 according to a report from Research and Markets. The success of IPTV, particularly in Asia, is due to strong growth in maturing markets like China and South Korea. Currently, China has the most IPTV subscribers worldwide and that trend will likely continue.

The fastest growing IPTV regions continue to be emerging markets like Latin America and the Middle East/Africa which today have relatively few IPTV services, but hold great promise in the future. Some countries in these regions are still navigating through government regulations that prohibit telcos from offering TV services or limit foreign investment in pay-TV services. However in the last year or so, countries like Brazil and India have managed to eliminate these issues through legislation and this has opened the door to new IPTV services.

In terms of service provider revenue via subscription, the revenue forecast shows a growth from $29 billion in 2012 to $56.8 billion in 2016, a compound annual growth rate of 18.2 per cent, or almost double the total from 2012