A special report for Viettel

Corporation

Download three more topical reports to share with your colleagues at:
research.informatm.com/viettelcorporation
 Julian Herbert
Principal Analyst
Broadband and Internet
julian.herbert@informa.com
Introduction
The union of the world of content delivered over the
unmanaged internet and that of the walled-garden IPTV
service has moved from the realm of mere prediction to
being an all-pervasive PR message and in one or two
cases, commercial reality.
The TV ecosystem now includes games consoles. There
are 25 third-party pay or catch-up TV services that
have launched, or will launch, on the three major games
consoles. Sony’s more open approach to PlayStation
means it has been able to offer more services (20 out of
25 services launched so far) than Microsoft’s Xbox 360,
but the proliferation and use of existing technologies and
platforms, including Microsoft’s Mediaroom and Silverlight
and Adobe’s Flash, will determine which providers launch
on which platforms. For all the hoo-hah, games consoles
are unlikely to usurp TV platforms as the medium of
choice for broadcasters and content providers, but they
represent an opportunity for operators to reach new
audiences at low cost.
Consoles aside, some operators are now openly
embracing OTT (over-the-top) strategies, by launching
innovative hybrid settop boxes (STBs), in order to
segment and expand audiences. STBs will require a
strong brand and unique services for customers to pay
for them. In November 2009, Telecom Italia became one
2
© Informa Telecoms & Media 2010
of the first operators to launch a hybrid over-the-top/digital
terrestrial TV box alongside a managed IPTV service, called
‘Cubovision’. The shape clearly started a trend, as French
pay TV broadcaster Canal+ has responded to decreasing
market share by introducing Le Cube, which will enable it
to bring on-demand content to its customers. The concept
behind both boxes – expanding the content of an STB
beyond linear TV – is sound, but both fall down in some
major ways. It remains to be seen whether these are merely
interesting experiments or part of a strategy which has legs.
OTT perhaps poses the biggest threat to that group of
operators which are marketing high-speed broadband quite
aggressively, but which also offer PayTV. Cable operators
face the conundrum that the faster the broadband speed,
the more potent the threat from OTT providers: who
needs a managed TV service when broadband can offer
all the bandwidth (and stability) one needs to watch TV or
download video over the open internet? Speed gives cable
operators the marketing edge against incumbents, but may
yet prove their undoing as PayTV providers.
Julian Herbert
We have research offices in every continent:
Beijing London
Boston Raleigh
Brisbane San Francisco
Dubai Sao Paolo
Johannesburg Singapore
For full contact details see page 19 or:
Call: +44 (0)20 701 74994
Email: marketing.enquiries@informa.com
CONTENTS

Speed is cable’s biggest strength against

incumbents but its Achilles’ heel against OTT players 4
Andrew Ladbrook
Research Analyst

Games consoles start to define their roles

in the TV ecosystem 9
Giles Cottle
Senior Analyst

Stagnating TV operators look to hybrid boxes

to segment and expand audience 14
Andrew Ladbrook
Research Analyst

Informa Telecoms & Media delivers strategic insight
founded on global market data and primary research.
We work in partnership with our clients, informing
their decision-making with practical services supported
by analysts.
Your global research partner
Our aim is to be accessible, responsive and connected,
both to the markets we serve and to our clients’
business goals.
n Our global analyst teams have a deep understanding
of the evolving telecoms and media value chain. Our
research programme combines local market insight
with sector based analysis for a complete,
integrated view.
n Our research expertise is built on the in-house
collection, validation and analysis of primary data.
We track and forecast new and established datasets,
using proven, robust methodologies.
n Our services drive decision-making. Our data,
forecasting and analysis, supported by interaction
with clients, provides real value.

3
 Andrew Ladbrook
Research Analyst
Broadband and Internet
andrew.ladbrook@informa.com
Speed is cable’s biggest strength
against incumbents but its
Achilles’ heel against OTT players
25 March 2010
n Cable-industry revenues and ARPU are growing as
broadband-subscription numbers rise.
n Speeds that are higher than incumbent rivals’ are
proving an effective marketing tool but will provide
opportunities to OTT players.
n The proliferation of legacy settop boxes will restrict
cable companies’ abilities to deliver new services.
n Cable operators’ content partners are embracing OTT
strategies as they seek to reach their viewers directly.
n Owning the living room will not be enough for cable: It
must seek to become important over all devices.
Introduction
On the surface, the outlook for the cable industry is
positive. Subscription numbers are rising, as is ARPU,
as more and more customers subscribe to digital cable
services over TV and broadband.
Broadband take-up is being driven by DOCSIS 3.0, which
provides a big speed advantage over DSL providers,
few of which have rolled out extensive next-generation
access networks.
In March 2010 Finnish cable player Welho announced that
it was launching a 200Mbps service, claiming the title of
the world’s fastest broadband. The cable industry is using
its advantage in the speed war (see fig. 1) to underpin its
marketing efforts.
The cable industry claims that it owns the living room and
that it is an industry built on delivering premium content.
However, it finds itself being challenged on its core
proposition – content – by several disparate groups. As
TV manufacturers introduce connected TVs, they have
signed several deals that will enable their devices to
provide a variety of “over the top” (OTT) services – those
that are delivered to the end-user via the Internet. Other
consumer-electronics manufacturers, including Apple,
Microsoft and Sony, have all introduced settop boxes
(STBs) in various guises, aiming squarely for control of the
living room. Also, some pure OTT players, such as Boxee,
are trying to migrate from the PC to the TV, by either
offering their own boxes or licensing their software to be
used in TVs or STBs. In this regard, with its unblinkered
focus on higher speeds, cable could be sowing the seeds
of its own destruction, because it gives OTT players the
perfect platform to deliver their services.
4
© Informa Telecoms & Media 2010
Analysis
Speed is working against the incumbents
With a few exceptions, such as in the UK and Spain, the
leading cable companies in most countries are growing faster
than the incumbents (see fig. 2). In Norway, Portugal,
Germany and several other countries, cable’s growth is over
20 percentage points higher than the incumbent’s.
The growth in the number of cable-broadband subscribers
is due to three factors: the cable industry is becoming more
serious about bundles as it faces up to competition from
IPTV services; consumer dissatisfaction with unreliable
DSL; and strong marketing built around an emphasis on
high speed and reliability. Subscribers are not choosing the
highest speeds available, but they are choosing cable
broadband. Liberty Media and Kabel Deutschland say their
most popular broadband packages are 16-30Mbps.
With FTTx rollouts taking place slowly, cable is likely to
maintain its speed advantage in the short-to-medium term.
Because of this, it is likely that cable companies will
continue to be able to sell their broadband services to their
pay TV customers and continue to raise ARPU. Even if the
incumbents can catch up to today’s cable-broadband
speeds, Welho has already demonstrated that even
greater speeds still can be squeezed out of DOCSIS 3.0
in some cases.
But speed will be good for OTT players
The last mile – the part of the broadband network that runs
into the customer’s home – is considered a major weakness
for OTT video. Although content providers can use
content-delivery networks to guarantee quality in the core
network, they cannot do so closer to the home.
With DOCSIS 3.0, cable has gone some way toward
overcoming both these problems with more-reliable
networks and faster speeds. Although this does not
guarantee quality, one of the major impediments to OTT
players – lack of bandwidth – has been removed, and that
can only make their services more attractive.
The speeds that cable companies now offer also mean that
OTT can offer much better services. iTunes downloads and
video-streaming services will now be nearly instantaneous,
without lag and in full HD. These OTT players also have
well-known brands that might attract many cable
subscribers to them and be used as substitutes for cable’s
core content services.
 Speed is cable’s biggest strength against incumbents
but its Achilles’ heel against OTT players

Country Service provider Service-provider type Advertised speed (Mbps)

Belgium Telenet Cable 25

Belgium Belgacom Incumbent 20

Denmark YouSee Cable 50

Denmark TDC Incumbent 20

Finland Welho Cable 200

Finland Sonera Incumbent 100

France France Telecom Cable 100

France Numericable Incumbent 100

Germany Kabel Deutschland Cable 100

Germany Deutsche Telecom Incumbent 50

Japan J-Com Cable 160

Japan NTT Incumbent 100

Netherlands UPC Cable 120

Netherlands KPN Incumbent 20

Norway Canal Digital Cable 70

Norway Telenor Incumbent 50

Portugal Zon Cable 1,000

Portugal PT Incumbent 100

South Korea SK Cable 100

South Korea KT Incumbent 100

Spain ONO Cable 50

Spain Telefonica Incumbent 25

Sweden Com Hem Cable 100

Sweden Telia Incumbent 24

UK Virgin Media Cable 50

UK BT Incumbent 20

US Comcast Cable 50

US AT&T Incumbent 18

Fig. 1: Selected countries, advertised speeds for leading cable and incumbent providers, 1Q10

Cable Incumbent

60

50
Year-on-year change (%)

40

30

20

10

-10
*

PT

le

om

om

et

om

SK

om

st

KT

or

d
ta
nd

TT

ho
Se
Zo

&

an
TD
ab

ta
en

en
gi

AT
ek

ac

ec
el
la

on

hl
be

u
Di

ic

l
J-

Te

Te
ch

Yo

c
l

lg

l
er

Te

Te

C
Ka

ts
al

Be
ts

um

eu
an

he

ce
eu

lD
C

sc

an
lD

ut

be
Fr
be

De

Ka
Ka

Fig. 2: Subscription growth of selected cable and incumbent providers, 4Q09 (*Q308 to Q309)

5
 Cable’s content partners are experimenting with
directly distributing their own content
The rise of connected devices means that cable’s
traditional partners, TV broadcasters and content
producers, are seeking direct access to their viewers.
They have taken two main paths. The first is to form
partnerships with CE manufacturers that are courting
content providers for their connected TVs (see fig. 3).
The second is to create new platforms that will enable TV
to be delivered over IP. In the UK, a consortium that
includes several TV broadcasters plans on launching a
new platform, Canvas, that will enable OTT delivery of TV
content. It will be an open platform, which means that any
content provider can deliver its service using Canvas. Until
early 2010, Virgin Media had remained quiet about
Canvas, allowing pay TV rival Sky to lead the complaints.
However, it has subsequently broken its silence, saying
that a publicly funded body should have no interest in
funding such a service.
In the key markets of France, Germany, Spain and Italy,
similar developments are occurring with HbbTV.
In the US, online aggregator Hulu continues to attract
large audiences. It has yet to lure anyone other than the
technology savvy, but in some circles it is being spoken of
as a cable replacement. Furthermore, with cable
companies and TV broadcasters squabbling over
retransmission fees – Disney recently removed its
channels from Cablevision after failing to come to an
agreement about future retransmission prices – online
delivery might be an attractive option.
Not all TV broadcasters are attempting this shift. Some still
see advantages in remaining with companies that have

Date Participants Announcement type Deal

6-Jan 09 LG Electronics (South Korea), Netflix, Yahoo, Partnership LG partners with Netflix, Yahoo and YouTube to offer video streaming on two
YouTube (all US) HDTV sets using its Netcast Entertainment Access service.

6-Jan 09 Samsung (South Korea), Yahoo (US) Deal Samsung teams up with Yahoo to put the latter's Widget Engine on selected
HDTV sets starting in spring 2009.

6-Jan 09 Toshiba (Japan), Yahoo, Intel, Microsoft (all Deal Toshiba launches devices such as LCD TVs and LCD TV/DVD combos that
US) support Yahoo/Intel's Widget Channel apps and Microsoft's Windows Media
Center.

24-Feb 09 Panasonic (Japan), Eurosport (France) Partnership CE manufacturer Panasonic partners with Eurosport. Content from the
European sports TV broadcaster will be available on Panasonic's connected
TVs

24-Feb 09 ARD Television (Germany), Panasonic (Japan) Partnership German TV broadcaster ARD Television makes some of its content available on
Panasonic's Viera Cast-enabled TVs

22-Jun 09 Boxee, MLB (both US) Deal Boxee, a provider of home-media software, signs a deal to bring videos from
Major League Baseball's MLB.tv site to the platform.

13-Jul 09 Blockbuster (US), Samsung (Korea) Partnership The companies announced that Samsung Internet-enabled TVs will be able to
stream Blockbuster movies.

3-Sep 09 Panasonic (Japan), ZDF (Germany), Nova Partnership TV broadcasters ZDF and Nova make TV shows available to be streamed over
(Czech Republic) Panasonic's Viera Cast-enabled TVs.

14-Oct 09 Samsung (South Korea) Launch The Amazon video-on-demand service is available on new Samsung connected
TVs.

21-Oct 09 BSkyB (UK) Launch BSkyB makes its VOD service, Sky Player, available on Windows 7 PCs.

16-Nov 09 Sony (Japan), Netflix (US) Deal Netflix announces that its Watch Instantly online-video service is available via
several Sony devices, including Bravia Internet Video-capable HDTVs and the
Sony Network Blu-ray Disc Player.

16-Nov 09 BBC (UK), Nintendo (Japan) Launch The BBC and Nintendo announce a new version of the BBC's iPlayer for
Nintendo's Wii console.

19-Nov 09 Sony (Japan), NOS (Netherlands) Partnership Dutch public broadcaster NOS begins offering content to Dutch PlayStation
owners via the PlayStation Network.

10-Dec 09 TF1 (France), Samsung (South Korea) Partnership French TV broadcaster TF1 teams up with Samsung to provide its online-video
services and selected widgets and applications via the South Korean
consumer-electronics giant's Internet-connected TV sets.

6-Jan 10 Yahoo, Brightcove (both US) Deal Online-video platform Brightcove has teamed up with Yahoo to give its
customers access to Yahoo's connected-TV platform.

6-Jan 10 Divx (US), LG (Korea) Deal Divx, a digital-film distributor, signs a deal with consumer-electronics company
LG to provide its over-the-top video service to LG's connected TVs and Blu-ray
players.

6-Jan 10 Vizio, CBS, Showtime, Vudu (all US) Partnership TV manufacturer Vizio announces that it has added several new content
partners, including TV broadcasters CBS and Showtime.

6-Jan 10 Panasonic (Japan), Fox Sports, Netflix (both Partnership Panasonic adds two new content partners, Netflix and Fox Sports, to its Viera
US) Cast platform. Users will be able to stream films from Netflix and get sports
statistics and news from Fox Sports.

8-Mar 10 Sony Computer Entertainment America, Sony Deal Sony Computer Entertainment has signed deals with all six major movie studios
Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney to distribute their HD-quality movies on its PlayStation Network. It is the first
Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal, service in which all six studios will have HD-quality films available.
Warner Bros. (All US)

Fig. 3: Selected deals and partnership between content providers and CE manufacturers, Jan-09 to Mar-10

6
© Informa Telecoms & Media 2010
 Speed is cable’s biggest strength against incumbents
but its Achilles’ heel against OTT players
established billing relationships with their viewers. HBO said
it intends to remain on cable platforms for the near future,
seeing little profit in operating a stand-alone OTT service. In
Eastern Europe it sees its partnership with cable companies
as a means of tackling piracy and strengthening its service.
HBO plans to give its Eastern European customers on-
demand access to its shows the day after they have been
shown in the US. Offering this service alleviates one of the
major reasons for piracy: viewers’ desire to keep up to date
with their favorite shows. Another reason for HBO to remain
on cable is that it sees little value in the a la carte model and
remains strongly tied to subscriptions.
Cable networks will require major upgrades to
provide an adequate response to OTT
Cable companies are not all at the same place when it
comes to their rollout of digital cable. Comcast expects
that by end-2010 all of its customers will be on digital
cable. Liberty Media is aggressively deploying digital cable
in all the countries it operates in, but it does not expect to
have the vast majority of its subscribers on digital cable
until late-2011.
There is also a vast a range of settop boxes in the homes
of cable subscribers, many of which cannot deliver the
new services being introduced by cable companies.
Unless the settop boxes and cable systems are upgraded,
cable companies will have no chance to compete with OTT
rivals of any stripe. Even with the upgrades, cable providers
face a dilemma in offering new interactive services. Most
cable operators deliver video via DVB-C and data via
DOCSIS 3.0, which is a cost-effective way of delivering both
types of traffic. To offer many new interactive services, cable
operators will need to deliver everything over DOCSIS 3.0,
which will substantially increase delivery costs.
Informa viewpoint
Speeding toward a dumb pipe
In providing ever greater speeds to grab headlines and
win broadband customers, cable is moving even quicker
than its incumbent rivals toward being a dumb pipe.
Managed services lose their advantages when so much
high-quality, reliable bandwidth is available.
DSL operators, with their slower and less reliable lines,
have not yet reached this point; their managed services
still hold a tangible difference in quality over OTT.
Cable must own devices, not the living room
Cable’s boast about owning the living room is
anachronistic thinking, because the TV does not have the
place that it used to. Users now have a plethora of
devices, such as smartphones and laptops, that not only
take attention away from the TV but offer access to
whatever they want, wherever they want. A focus only on
owning the TV will push these users to OTT services.
Some leading cable companies are already embracing this
view. YouSee in Denmark and Comcast in the US are doing
so by providing access to their TV content on the PC.
These services are often limited as to the location where
they can be accessed, making them less than ideal.
Subscribers should not be chased into the arms of OTT
players who give their users access no matter their
location or device.
If content delivery is going to stop cable from turning into
a dumb pipe, cable operators should make sure their
subscribers can get to their content. This value-added
service only enhances cable’s greatest strength and takes
into account modern realities.
Focus new services on the right audience
Just as not every subscriber is going to care about getting
digital cable or HD, not every subscriber wants to access
OTT content. Cable’s focus on the living room means that
it is losing the generation that does not spend time there
but prefers its own room or device.
These tech-savvy users have already adopted many OTT
services, and their relationship with cable companies as a
content provider is weak. It is unlikely that this group will be
interested in the walled-garden services offered by cable
companies via advanced settop boxes, because they will not
want to give up services they have become familiar with.
Any new services that cable companies introduce as a
means of tackling the OTT players should be two-
pronged, to give older generations new features as a
churn-reduction strategy and to build a relationship with
the younger generation.
If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em
Having already aggregated premium content, and with
good relations with content producers, cable players are
already in a good position to offer OTT services. Such
services might be a good way to provide their services
universally and to younger demographics.
Going OTT has three other advantages. First, it means that
the cable player is now competing directly with OTT players,
which should enable them to gain some market share and
crowd out any new competitors that might have arisen
without their presence. Second, to deliver video, OTT could
be a virtuous cycle; by delivering high-quality premium
content, demand for faster broadband should rise, which
will have a positive impact on ARPU.
And by embracing OTT fully, cable companies will also be
able to reach customers who are outside of their footprints,
which are typically smaller than incumbents’ footprints.
Belgian cable company Telenet, which offers its complete
service as an OTT service for the same price as its cable
TV service, has had little success with this approach. User
numbers remain low and annual revenues remain below
11 million (US$1.33 million). But it stands by its decision,
saying it is learning important lessons and is positioning
itself for the future.
This analysis has been taken from the Intelligence Centre,
for more information about the service please visit:
www.intelligencecentre.net/broadband-internet/
7
 Market data you
can trust
Europe, fixed-broadband and mobile-broadband subscriptions and net additions,
4Q07-4Q09
200

150
Million

100

50

0
4Q07 1Q08 2Q08 3Q08 4Q08 1Q09 2Q09 3Q09 4Q09
● Fixed-broadband subscriptions ● Mobile-broadband subscriptions
● Fixed-broadband net additions ● Mobile-broadband net additions
Note: Subscription figures refer to quarter-end Source: Informa Telecoms & Media

“Increasingly fixed operators are keen to tap into the mobile

broadband boom in some way. Mobile broadband subscriptions
in Europe rose by 91.4% to 61.9 million in the year to end-4Q09,
against a 12.1% rise for fixed-broadband subscriptions. Incumbents,
for the most part keen to sweat their legacy copper networks for
as long as possible, are less likely to offer fixed/mobile broadband
bundles than their alternative operator rivals.
Meanwhile, the number of alternative operators offering mobile
services is set to increase as there is a pool of alternative operators
as yet without a mobile offer. These companies, which include
providers in the cable sector and some utility-backed fiber-to-
the-home/building (FTTH/B) operators, see mobile broadband,
World Broadband Information Service (WBIS) is the
bundled or not, as a key part of their future strategy.” industry’s leading source of broadband, multichannel TV
and fixed-line market data.
Julian Herbert, Principal Analyst & WBIS Product Manager As well as access to a comprehensive, reliable and detailed
global database of historic market data, KPIs and forecasts,
clients also receive unlimited access to a team of dedicated
analysts. The data supplied by WBIS, as well as the online
tools and analyst support help you make those important
strategic and tactical decisions.

www.wbisdata.com
 Giles Cottle
Senior Analyst
Broadband and Internet
giles.cottle@informa.com

Games consoles start to define

their roles in the TV ecosystem
25 February 2010

n Informa Telecoms & Media counts 25 third-party pay or
catch-up TV services that have launched, or will launch,
on the three major games consoles.
n Sony’s more open approach to PlayStation means it
has been able to offer more services than Microsoft’s
Xbox 360.
n The proliferation and use of existing technologies and
platforms, including Microsoft’s Mediaroom and
Silverlight and Adobe’s Flash, will determine which
providers launch on which platforms.
n Consoles are unlikely to usurp TV platforms as the main
method by which services can be accessed.
Introduction
The idea of the games consoles as a connected device
that allows for far more than game-playing is not a new
idea. After all, it was back in 2002 when Informa Telecoms
& Media reported on news of a corporate restructuring at
Sony that resulted in the creation of a Broadband Strategy
Group within the company. The group was charged with
pushing the evolution of Sony’s PS2 console as a
broadband-based entertainment-delivery medium.
Several years and one generation of consoles later, and
it’s becoming clear that games consoles will be, if they
aren’t already, one of the key players in the connected
home. In no way is this more obvious than in the types of
services available via the devices (see fig. 1). Microsoft,
Sony and Nintendo have been gradually ramping up
the features of their Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii
consoles, including providing their own VOD libraries.
Where the picture gets really interesting is in the provision
of third-party services. Ultimately, the extent to which
consoles work with third parties will determine just
how ingrained they become in the connected home.
The headline-grabbing deals have included Facebook
and Twitter, which are available on Xbox Live in several
countries, and Netflix, whose Watch Instantly video-
streaming service is available via all three major consoles.
But outside the US, the big move has been the inclusion
of major third-party TV services by the main consoles,
including catch-up TV services provided by broadcasters
and pay-TV services usually delivered via satellite (DTH) or
IPTV (see fig. 2).
Analysis
Motivations for offering services via a console
vary greatly
There is only ever one ultimate reason for a broadcaster or
operator to offer services via new platforms: to go where
its audience is, so it can reach as many eyeballs as
possible. But beyond this, there are some subtleties and
nuances that can hasten an operator’s decision to offer
these services:
On-demand on the cheap: Sky and Canal in France
have persevered with the Xbox 360 because the
limitations of their pay TV platforms – satellite – mean it
is difficult to offer a true on-demand service. Instantly
being able to offer on-demand content to Microsoft’s
estimated 2.5 million Xbox Live homes in the UK will be
extremely appealing.

Console Web service Social Video-on-demand

Nintendo Wii Offers photo sharing, shopping, news and
weather forecasts and a Web browser. Other
features, including a food-delivery service, are
included in Japan.
In-house services including a message board
and the Everybody Votes channel are
available; Nintendo has yet to strike any deals
with third-party social networks or media
providers, however.
Nintendo offers Wii no Maa, a social VOD
service that offers cartoons and other
family-friendly shows from major content
providers, in Japan.

Sony PlayStation 3 PS3 users can access Home, the console’s
virtual world and community, the PlayStation
store and other services. The service also
includes a Web browser.
Home is Sony’s PS3-based online community.
Users can create avatars, which live within
Home and can interact with the avatars of
other users. Users can also access several
social-media sites via the PS3’s Web browser.
Sony sells VOD content via the PlayStation
store in the US, the UK, France, Germany,
Spain and Japan. VidZone, a service that
allows users to watch music videos free, is
available across Europe and Australasia.

Xbox 360 Xbox Live users can play online against each
other and download full games and other
additional content. Unlike the PS3 and Wii,
Xbox Live does not include or support a Web
browser.
Twitter and Facebook are available in the Zune, Microsoft’s VOD service, was made
majority of countries in which Xbox Live has available across Europe and Australia, having
launched. Music-discovery service Last.fm is previously been available only in the US.
available in the UK and US and will soon
launch in Germany. Pioneering interactive live
game show 1 vs 100 is available in the UK
and US.

Fig. 1: Non-game services offered by the big three games consoles, Feb-10

9
© Informa Telecoms & Media 2010
 Games consoles start to define their
roles in the TV ecosystem

Country Service Service Platform Creating a splash: Well-funded communications

provider providers that are new to the TV market can use consoles to
Australia ABC iView PS3 boost their TV efforts. KT of South Korea was the first
Bulgaria AXN AXN Player PS3 operator to launch a service via a games console, but it was
Czech Republic Animax Animax Player PS3
something of a TV laggard when it did so. Legislation
prohibited the operator from launching linear services, and its
Czech Republic AXN AXN Player PS3
on-demand service came after that of rival SK Broadband,
France Canal Canal+ Xbox 360 then branded Hanaro Telecom. Launching over the PS3 was
Germany ZDF ZDF Mediathek PS3 a natural step, given that persuading consumers to install
Hong Kong PCCW Now TV PS3 and pay for another settop box simply to access on-demand
Hungary Animax AXN Player PS3 viewing was also going to be a hard sell. Vodafone Portugal
also launched its Casa TV service via Xbox Live only a few
Hungary AXN Animax Player PS3
months after it launched the service.
Ireland RTE RTE Player PS3

Netherlands NOS NOS Journaal PS3 Sony’s vertically integrated approach: Some
New Zealand TVNZ TVNZ ondemand PS3 eyebrows were initially raised when Sony channels AXN
Poland AXN AXN Player PS3 and Animax were included as dedicated catch-up
Portugal Vodafone Casa TV Xbox 360
services on the PlayStation Network. Informa estimates
that, by the end of 2009, about 2 million PS3 consoles
Romania AXN AXN Player PS3
were sold in Europe outside the Big Five countries. The
Romania Animax Animax Player PS3
potential audience for viewing Animax and AXN can
Slovakia Animax Animax Player PS3 therefore be assumed to be extremely small. These
Slovakia AXN AXN Player PS3 launches most likely represent an opportunity for Sony to
South Korea KT Qook TV PS3 experiment with offering catch-up TV services in smaller
Spain Antenna 3 Atenna3videos PS3
markets. Signing up third-party broadcasters in these
markets will be difficult, because the costs of offering the
Spain La Sexta Misexta.tv PS3
service will be high compared with their potential benefits.
Spain RTVE RTVE a la carta PS3

UK BBC iPlayer Wii, PS3 Consoles attract new viewers, but there is some
UK BSkyB Sky Player Xbox 360 cannibalization from existing sources
US AT&T U-Verse Xbox 360 Viewing catch-up services via games consoles is
popular. Months after launch, the PS3 now accounts
Fig. 2: Global, pay-TV and catch-up services offered via games consoles,
Jan-10 for a significant proportion of iPlayer program requests
(see fig. 3). And in Australia, ABC achieved 89,000 views
a week only days after the iView service officially launched
Multiroom viewing or STB replacement: PCCW says via the PS3, having achieved only 83 views when the
that one of the main reasons it is offering Now TV via the service was available via the console but not promoted
PS3 is that it will enable people to watch its service on a (see fig. 4).
second set. This will appeal to customers, because such a
service is usually something that operators charge for. It is
particularly apt in Hong Kong, because many users live in
small apartments and space is at a premium, meaning any
device providing multiple services usually has an advantage.

PC 100
89,000
Virgin Media
Mac 80
Visits (thousands)

PS3
Wii 60
iPhone
Other mobile 40
26,000
20

83
0
Note: Problems with collection of iPhone data means that the Week 46 Week 47 Week 48
iPhone’s share is in reality higher than as presented (Nov 9–15) (Nov 16–22) (Nov 23–29)

Fig. 3: iPlayer, program requests by platform, Dec-09 Fig. 4: Australia, iView visits via PS3, Nov-09

10
 Silverlight’s big competitor, Adobe Flash, is not supported
PC + MAC PS3
on Xbox Live but is supported on the Sony PS3, which in
70 turn does not support Silverlight. This means that
60
broadcasters using Flash for online-video services can
more easily integrate their services into the PlayStation
No. of requests (mil)

50 Network. This is made even easier by the fact that, unlike

the Xbox, the PS3 has a browser, via which several
40
services that are not officially supported are actually
30 watchable. Although the BBC described its unofficial
version of iPlayer as “clunky,” Informa Telecoms & Media
20 has used several other services via the PSN where the
quality could at least be described as reasonable.
10

0 The respective strengths and use-cases for Flash and

Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Silverlight also help explain the reason pay services are
Fig. 5: BBC iPlayer, selected program requests by platform, Jul-Dec 09 on Xbox Live and free services are on the PS3. The
vast majority of free catch-up TV services use Flash
One reason games consoles appeal to broadcasters is (see fig. 6). It remains a strong video platform and has
that they can bring a “lost generation” of viewers back to much higher penetration than Silverlight does, being
the TV. Broadcasters reason that if they bring their installed on about 98% of all PCs, compared with
services to the console, they will be able to win back Silverlight’s penetration of around 50%.
viewers who have abandoned the TV for gaming. But that
is a pretty major assumption to make. Most gamers are Service Country Free or pay Technology
technology-savvy people and are arguably those who RTL Now Germany Free Flash
would still watch via the PC. It is likely that many of these
Rai TV Italy Free Silverlight
“lost” viewers have abandoned TV because it simply does
TVE Spain Free Flash
not interest them as a medium, rather than because they
cannot access it in the way they want too. SVT Play Sweden Free Flash

Viasat on Sweden Free Flash

It is also clear that at least some viewers of catch-up TV Demand

via the console are churning from other platforms. An 4oD UK Free Flash
analysis of iPlayer data provided by the BBC shows that BBC iPlayer UK Free Flash
the number of iPlayer requests via PCs and Macs Demand Five UK Free Flash
dropped in the month the PS3 launched (see fig. 5).
M6 Reply UK Free Flash

TV2 Denmark Pay Silverlight

Technology restraints are underpinning which
services launch on which platforms Canal Foot+ France Pay Silverlight

Much has been made of the fact that Microsoft has
launched only paid-for third-party video services over Xbox
Live, while Sony has embraced free catch-up TV for the
PS3. At first glance, these strategies mirror both companies’
online strategies for their consoles. The Sony PlayStation
Network is free for all PlayStation users; Xbox 360 users
must pay US$50 a year for Xbox Live Gold membership to
access the majority of the service’s features. But the split is
not one simply between free and pay: For a start, Sony
offers at least two pay services – Qook TV in South Korea
and Now TV in PCCW – via the PS3.
The main issues underpinning which platform they chose
are technical, not strategic. Microsoft has two key
advantages in the online-video and IPTV ecosystems:
Mediaroom, its middleware technology for managed IPTV
providers, and Silverlight, its online-video platform, which
is used by many service providers offering streaming
video over the Internet. The two IPTV providers it is
offering services for – AT&T and Vodafone Portugal – are
Mediaroom customers. Microsoft will not be able to
provide IPTV services via the Xbox for non-Mediaroom
customers. Likewise, Sky’s Sky Player and Canal’s Foot+
both use Silverlight, making integration with Xbox Live
much more straightforward.
Mediaset Italy Pay Silverlight
Sky Player UK Pay Silverlight
Fig. 6: Use of Microsoft Silverlight and Adobe Flash by selected online-
video services, Feb-10
But Silverlight has a key advantage over Flash in offering
paid-for content: Microsoft’s strong heritage in offering
DRM. Silverlight’s DRM is considered extremely robust,
whereas Adobe only began adding DRM to Flash in 2008.
Silverlight is also widely considered a stronger live-
streaming platform; several broadcasters used Silverlight
to show live streaming of the Olympic Games, to great
acclaim. NOS of the Netherlands uses Flash for its VOD
service that is being made available via the PS3. But it
uses Silverlight for live streaming because, it says, it is
much cheaper.

11
© Informa Telecoms & Media 2010
 Games consoles start to define their
roles in the TV ecosystem
Less settop-box subsidization means lower
capex and higher ARPU for operators
Although Microsoft Mediaroom customers offering
services over the Xbox 360 will not be able to let their
subscribers use the device as a primary settop box, Qook
TV and Now TV subscribers can use the PS3 as their
primary settop box. And of course the whole reason for
satellite providers such as Sky and Canalsat to launch via
the Xbox 360 is to offer services without requiring users to
have a conventional settop box.
Offering content without needing to provide a box could
save operators a significant amount, since the cost of
providing settop boxes is a major drain on opex for TV
providers. Sky also charges users to access its service via
Xbox, meaning it can still charge for multiroom services
without having to provide the device. For satellite
operators, however, this saving is not likely to outweigh
the cost of delivering its linear programming via
broadband instead of broadcast, which is a far cheaper
distribution mechanism.
Wider footprint or better quality of service?
Whereas Sky Player is available to any customers of any
broadband operator, the services from PCCW and AT&T
will be available only to each operator’s respective
broadband customers. The former approach enables the
operator to extend its footprint far beyond its customer
base. But it also presents problems of delivery, and it is
much more difficult to deliver video content “over the top”
than via a managed network. Offering HD to the TV set,
for example, is difficult over an unmanaged broadband
network. And guaranteeing good quality of service is
difficult when both the network and the settop box are in
the hands of third parties.
The Informa view
Service providers will choose the path of least
technical resistance
Although service providers want to reach as many users
as possible, some will choose technical simplicity over
eyeballs when it comes to deciding which console they
want to offer a service via.
The fates of Adobe’s Flash and Microsoft’s Silverlight and
Mediaroom will therefore decide which services will launch
where and which platforms become dominant in offering
paid-for services. The next IPTV service offered over Xbox
Live will be another Mediaroom customer, with German
incumbent Deutsche Telekom a likely target. Sony,
meanwhile, has a number of Flash-powered catch-up TV
services it can still woo.
The Nintendo Wii is likely to remain more peripheral,
simply because of the efforts broadcasters must make
to get their services on the platform.
Offering services via the PS3 is relatively cheap for
catch-up TV providers. The BBC, for example, rebuilt its
application to optimize it, but it was based on the same
underlying technologies – Flash and HTML – as the
Web version.
12
With the Wii, the BBC had to abandon HTML completely,
because the console was not powerful enough to provide
a good user experience. Instead, the BBC had to develop
a new application using FlashLite and integrate it with the
Wii’s H.264 video player. The maximum level the Wii could
deliver was 700Kbps – less than the speed at which
regular-definition iPlayer content was delivered – so a lot
of work also had to be done on encoding the video.
Expect Microsoft to start offering some free video
services on Xbox Live
It will take a fairly large shift in market dynamics for
numerous free services to appear on Xbox Live. It would
be inconceivable for Microsoft to support Flash on Xbox
Live, and it is equally inconceivable for service providers
across Europe to offer services in both Flash and
Silverlight or to switch en masse to Silverlight, simply to
reach console audiences.
But Informa believes that some free services will launch.
The stumbling block for iPlayer’s appearing on Xbox 360
is not that it cannot be charged for but that the service
cannot be used to upsell a product – in this case,
Microsoft’s Xbox Live. Commercial broadcasters will not
have this concern. And some free Silverlight-powered
services, such as Italian broadcaster Rai’s catch-up
service, could be offered via Xbox Live.
Consoles will play second fiddle to TV platforms in
offering services
Broadcasters, especially smaller ones without the
resources to develop for multiple platforms, will turn to TV
platforms first for one of three reasons. First, the audience
for catch-up TV via a pay TV platform can reasonably be
assumed to be 100%, whereas many games-console
users will not have plugged their consoles in – only 59% of
PS3 homes are connected to the Net – or might simply
not be interested.
The pay TV audience is also bigger than the console
audience. In no country in Europe can the most popular
games console claim to have a larger user base than the
most popular games pay TV platform.
Finally, it is technically simpler and cheaper to deliver
services via IPTV than via a console. To deliver services via
Virgin Media, broadcasters simply need to upload their
content into the broadcaster’s system, as opposed to
creating a new application or coding. It is simply another
TV program delivered on-demand. One indication of this
is that although cash-strapped ITV has gone on record
as saying it is cost-prohibitive to develop for lots of
platforms, it does appear on cable operator Virgin Media’s
VOD service.
This analysis has been taken from the Intelligence Centre,
for more information about the service please visit:
www.intelligencecentre.net/broadband-internet/
 Independent

Connected
Interoperability
Mergers Video
pricing apps
Accessible
media

acquisitions
FTTx wireless

Content
Digital

Voice
IPTV
Dedicated

Bandwidth
Demand
Wholesale
Fixed/mobile

Valuable
management

Complete
Cable
Device

messaging
xDSL Mobile
broadband
convergence Finance
Retail

Regulation
Next-generation

Broadband & Internet

Whether you are looking to grow, diversify, acquire or defend

your market, a subscription to the Intelligence Centre will
provide you with the analysis, insight, market data and forecasts
to underpin major decisions and reduce risk.
Featuring 10 sector focused channels across TV, broadband
and mobile, the Intelligence Centre provides comprehensive
and unmatched topic, country and company coverage, as well
as a library of presentations from Informa Telecoms & Media’s
extensive conference programme.

Make better business

decisions, starting today:
www.intelligencecentre.net/broadband

Join us on LinkedIn: Follow us on Twitter: Email us: Subscribe to our Connect email
www.informatm.com/linkedin www.twitter.com/informatm marketing.enquiries@informa.com www.informatm.com/connect
13
 Andrew Ladbrook
Research Analyst
Broadband and Internet
andrew.ladbrook@informa.com

Stagnating TV operators look

to hybrid boxes to segment
and expand audience
19 February 2010

n In November 2009, Telecom Italia became one of the
first operators to launch a hybrid over-the-top/digital
terrestrial TV box alongside a managed IPTV service.
n French pay TV broadcaster Canal has responded to
decreasing market share by introducing Le Cube,
which will enable it to bring on-demand content to
its customers.
n Internet-enabled STBs are not direct competition for
IPTV but can be part of a wider strategy.
n STBs will require a strong brand and unique services for
customers to pay for them.
Introduction
Hybrid settop boxes (STBs) have been on the market for
several years. Traditionally, they have been used by
operators that want to offer video-on-demand (VOD)
services and lack the resources to absorb the cost of
investing in a full-fledged IPTV service. One prominent
example is UK incumbent BT’s BT Vision service.
However, in November 2009, Telecom Italia, which
already had an IPTV service, launched its own hybrid
product, Cubovision. The STB offers PVR, linear digital
terrestrial TV (DTT) and crucially, access to some over-the-
top (OTT) services. It also offers users USB connectivity
and an SD-card reader, which will allow digital media to
be transferred easily from a computer to the Cubovision
STB (see fig. 1). Telecom Italia appears to be the first
major operator to offer an IPTV service and a hybrid
box separately.
Fig. 1: Cubovision
Fig. 1: Cubovision
and Le Cubeand
features,
Le CubeFeb-10
features, Feb-10
Canal, a French pay TV broadcaster, also introduced a
hybrid box in 2009. Unlike Telecom Italia’s Cubovision, its
Le Cube builds more directly on its previously established
services. It too requires users to pay a large fee for an STB,
a departure from the norm, since STBs are typically heavily
subsidized. Le Cube acts as both a satellite-TV receiver and
a VOD box, offering free catch-up services and paid-for
content. It also enables users to watch via a second TV set
connected to Le Cube by an Ethernet cable. To make Le
Cube more attractive, Canal also offers access to its most
popular shows before they are broadcast, a service regular
Canal subscribers must pay extra for.
Both Telecom Italia and Canal are not subsidizing the cost
of their STBs as part of a subscription package. Cubovision
and Le Cube are walled gardens, restricting over-the-top
access to preapproved services.
Analysis
IPTV is failing in Italy
Incumbent Telecom Italia is seeing its broadband market
share fall, but it remains the dominant operator, controlling
just over 60% of the market. Even so, it has failed to
successfully push its IPTV service to its subscribers,
adding just under 200,000 customers between end-3Q08
and end-3Q09. Customers using the IPTV service
accounted for only 6% of total subscriptions at end-3Q09
(see figs. 2 and 3).

Cubovision Cubovision
Cubovision Le Cube Le Cube Le Cube
Provider
ProviderProvider Telecom ItaliaTelecom
Telecom Italia
Italia Canal+ Canal+
Canal+
Price (€) Price (€) 199 199 Deposit: 75; subscription:
Deposit:6/month
75; subscription: 6/month
Price
HDD (GB) HDD (GB)
500 1199500 320 320 Deposit: 175; subscription: €6/month
Inputs HDD (GB)Inputs 1 Ethernet, 1 DTT
500 1reciever
Ethernet, 1 DTT reciever1 Satellite reciever,1 1Satellite
ethernetreciever,
port, USB
320 1 ethernet
port port, USB port
Additional ports Additional2 ports
USB ports, SD card
2 USB
reader,
ports,
Wi-Fi
SD card
b/g/nreader,
2 USB
Wi-Fi
ports
b/g/n 2 USB ports
Outputs Inputs One HDMI,
Ethernet,
Outputs HDMI, Video composite onecomposite
Video TV reciever HDMI, 2nd TV decoder Onedecoder
HDMI, 2nd TV Satellite receiver, one Ethernet port, USB port
Catch upAdditional
TV Catch
portsupNone
TV Two None Canal+
USB ports, SD card reader, play, M6 replay
Wi-Fi b/g/n Canal+ play,2M6
USBreplay
ports
Other free video services
Other free
La7.tv,
videoYouTube,
services various
La7.tv, Web
YouTube,
TV services
various Web
EarlyTV
premieres,
services Extended
Early premieres,
catch upExtended
service catch up service
Outputs HDMI, video composite HDMI, second TV decoder
Paid VoD Paid VoDEpisodes of Lost, selected
Episodesmovies
of Lost, selectedSelected
movies movies Selected movies
Catch-up TV None Canal+ Play, M6 Replay
Source: Companies Source:
Other free Companies
video services La7.tv, YouTube, various Web TV services Early premieres, extended catch-up service

Paid VOD Episodes of Lost, selected movies Selected movies

Note: 11=US$1.37

Fig. 1: Cubovision and Le Cube features, Feb-10

14
© Informa Telecoms & Media 2010
 Stagnating TV operators look to hybrid
boxes to segment and expand audience

DTT Sky Italia Telecom Italia FastWeb 7

6
15
5

Subscribers (mil)
12
4
Users (mil)

9
3

6
2

3 1

0 0
3Q08 4Q08 1Q09 2Q09 3Q09 Broadband Triple play
and voice

Fig. 2: Italy, multichannel-TV users, 3Q08-3Q09 Fig. 3: Italy, Telecom Italia subscriptions, 3Q09

Italy has a strong satellite operator in Sky, which has a

near monopoly on pay TV; DTT adoption has been IPTV CanalSat
relatively fast in the past year, since the country has begun
its migration to digital television. Neither Telecom Italia’s 10
nor FastWeb’s IPTV service has made a significant impact
on the market. 8
Subscribers (mil)

Given this state of affairs, adding a DTT hybrid product 6

alongside its IPTV service looks to be a good strategy for
Telecom Italia. However, having persevered for so long
with only an IPTV offering, it has missed an opportunity,
since DTT penetration had already increased from 27% to
49% in the 12 months to end-3Q09.
There is clear demand for DTT, and the confusion
regarding the switchover should have a positive impact on
sales of Cubovision. In Italy, analog TV is being phased out
on a region-by-region basis, forcing people to consider
which DTT service or STB is best for them.
Until the launch of Cubovision, Telecom Italia had opted
not to provide a DTT service, despite operating several of
the country’s DTT multiplexes. DTT’s association with
low-ARPU users might have been a factor in Telecom
Italia’s late entry into the market.
OTT complements, rather than competes with, IPTV
Telecom Italia’s IPTV service and Cubovision both offer linear
TV and on-demand services. However, the operator is trying
to sell both products to very different markets. IPTV service
is being offered to premium customers, who will pay for HD
and the improved quality of service that managed services
bring. Cubovision is being marketed to lower-ARPU
subscribers, who are unlikely to subscribe to IPTV.
In offering Cubovision, Telecom Italia can access a large
segment of its broadband subscribers it had previously
not served. It also means that its IPTV service no longer
needs to try to be attractive to the mass market and can
concentrate on better serving premium users.
4
2
0
3Q08 4Q08 1Q09 2Q09 3Q09
Fig. 4: France, pay TV subscriptions, 3Q08-3Q09
Using OTT to stay ahead
A very different set of problems has moved pay-TV
broadcaster Canal to introduce a hybrid box. Unlike
Telecom Italia, Canal already has a large subscription base
for its satellite-TV service. Another difference is that the
French pay-TV market is very competitive and is one of the
few in which operators have managed to introduce
successful IPTV services. In four years the combined
subscription base of the IPTV operators has exceeded that
of Canalsat (see fig. 4), and IPTV is now the dominant
technology. Much of this growth has occurred because
IPTV is bundled with broadband at a reduced price.
IPTV is a more interactive medium than satellite in that it
has a two-way communication between the user and the
TV, enabling VOD services to develop from push to pull.
However, it costs more to deliver live TV via broadband
than via satellite. With Le Cube, Canal has released a
product that can take advantage of the two-way
communication of broadband delivery and the cost
efficiency of satellite delivery. It also means the operator
can deliver VOD to the TV, something people are much
more likely to pay for than VOD to the PC.

15
 Making STBs attractive
STB prices have been kept artificially low because they
have been subsidized by service providers aiming to
attract more subscribers. As a result, the STB has
become a commoditized item, and customers have
become reluctant to pay for such a box, possibly
hindering adoption of Le Cube and Cubovision.
Despite having the cheaper box, Canal provides greater
incentives to its subscribers to acquire Le Cube. It has a
relatively low price of a 175 (US$102.50) deposit and a
subscription fee of 16 a month. Le Cube also comes with
additional content; users will be able to access popular
programs on-demand before their first airing on linear TV
and will be able to access a catch-up service for longer
than the usual seven-day window after broadcast.
Another unique feature is that Le Cube comes with a
second decoder, which will enable linear TV to be viewed
on another TV connected to it; in effect, Le Cube is two
STBs for the price of one. Canal also designed Le Cube to
be more visually attractive and have its own branding,
making it quite different from many other STBs.
Telecom Italia have employed a similar approach. It too is
attempting to build Cubovision into a brand of its own,
giving it a distinctive design and separate Web site. It has
eschewed providing catch-up services, which would have
probably incurred licensing costs, but it has added various
Web TV services and YouTube as well as its own online-
video services. This approach takes advantage of the
connected capability of Cubovision to provide more than
just what is already available on linear TV.
Telecom Italia has for several years been developing
various online-video portals, such as La7 and user-
generated-content site Gulp. Cubovision has access to
both of these services, which means it has access to
unique content. Additionally, it should drive traffic to both
sites, and Telecom Italia should therefore benefit twice
from this cross-promotion.
Alongside the free content available on Cubovision, there
is a paid-for on-demand service. In February 2010, the
only paid-for content available was episodes of Lost, but
the lineup is likely to be expanded because it makes
Cubovision more attractive to users and should generate
revenues for the operator.
The Informa view
Operators must play what is in front of them
Canal cannot be said to be failing in the TV market in quite
the same way that Telecom Italia is, but it is continuing to
lose market share each quarter. Both companies’
strategies show an awareness of their native markets.
In Italy, DTT is proving popular and IPTV is not. For
Telecom Italia to augment its strategy with a hybrid STB is
a good move, because it gives it access to this much
larger market. It shows an adaption to market conditions,
which is a better move then persisting, in isolation, with
16
© Informa Telecoms & Media 2010
providing only an IPTV service. Cubovision is the tool
most suited to reducing churn, because Italians prefer
DTT to paid TV.
Likewise, Canal has reacted to the popularity of IPTV in
France by pursuing a strategy that focuses on this
particular challenge. It has done so not only in launching
Le Cube but also in allowing its Canalplay service to be
available on the Xbox 360. It is providing several routes to
access its content and give users the on-demand
services they desire.
Good intentions but fundamental flaws
The concept behind both boxes – expanding the content
of an STB beyond linear TV – is sound, but both fall down
in some major ways.
Cubovision broadly fails to deliver on what it promises,
and inclusion of its La7 service does not compensate for a
lack of many other online services. YouTube via the TV is
a nice add-on but cannot be called a premium product.
Cubovision’s failure to include any other services from
competitive broadcasters is understandable, given
Telecom Italia’s position in the TV market, but it severely
hampers the product.
The proposition for Le Cube is stronger, in that it offers at
least one popular third-party catch-up service in M6
Replay. But it still offers broadly the same content as its
regular subscribers can receive. Providing access to
YouTube or other short-form video sites, for example,
would enable Canal to, at little cost, provide something
beyond a mere extension of its core product. If it did this,
Le Cube would be a genuine hub for all users’ video
demands, be that skateboarding cats or the newest
episode of Lost.
Both boxes are also priced too high. If Telecom Italia is
genuinely aiming for the mass market, 1200 for a settop
box with some added bells and whistles is considerably
more expensive than its potential rivals. Le Cube is
cheaper, but save for the inclusion of catch-up TV
services and getting some US shows earlier, there
appears to be little benefit in users paying an extra 16 a
month on top of their regular satellite subscriptions.
Push VOD is not a USP
Cubovision and Le Cube are Internet-enabled but offer
users little OTT content, preferring to provide limited
walled-garden services.
Push-VOD services are a good means by which operators
can increase ARPU but are by no means cash cows. And
as hybrid boxes become more popular and numerous
players enter the market, providing VOD will no longer be
enough to make an STB stand out. And to limit the OTT
capabilities to video is to ignore a great deal of online
content that non-tech-savvy users would like to access
on their TVs.
 Stagnating TV operators look to hybrid
boxes to segment and expand audience

Several OTT boxes offer services with unique features.

Boxee provides users with social features that enable
them to recommend movies and TV series to friends
using Facebook. Roku’s STB provides access to OTT
services such as photo-sharing Web site Flickr, Internet-
radio service Pandora and some Facebook interactivity.
These services have yet to enter the Italian market, but it is
inevitable that similar services will launch in the future.

There are, of course, major barriers to offering these

services – namely the cost to the operator of supporting
them, and the difficulty operators face in persuading
service providers to develop services for what remain
small platforms. But these are areas that service providers
might not be able to avoid in the future.

This analysis has been taken from the Intelligence Centre,

for more information about the service please visit:
www.intelligencecentre.net/broadband-internet/

Further resources

Across the 10 channels of the Intelligence Centre, clients have access to over 9,000 pieces of analysis, over
500 data and forecast spreadsheets, over 3,000 conference papers and over 21,000 comments. In addition,
the service features over 200 individual country profiles and over 1000 company profiles, all of which are updated
on a regular basis.

Here is just a selection of further content related to OTT and IPTV:

Analysis & Comment Data & Forecasts

n Operators ramp up their IPTV value-added-service
efforts
n Look beyond the E3 hype for proof of Microsoft’s
march toward owning the digital home
n O2 looks for new strategy to combat DTT
n Internet-enabled TVs and corresponding services
n Cable: if you’ve got it, flaunt it
n 2010 heralds a new dawn for operator CDNs
n BBC iplayer performance, December 2009
n Global IPTV forecasts to 2014
n Internet-enabled TVs and corresponding services
n Global IPTV subscriptions to end 2009
n Global fixed broadband subscriptions to end 2009
n Global fixed broadband subscription forecasts,
2010–2014
n Global conditional access systems (CAS) contracts

To find out more about how the Intelligence Centre can help your strategic intelligence and decision making
visit: www.intelligencecentre.net/broadband-internet/ or contact us today.

17
 Viewing

Accessible
Digital

Pricing
strategies
ARPU

equipment

Free-to-air
Technology
Valuable Viewing Markets

Connected
Regulation Broadcast
Mobile TV Complete
Technology Video Consumption
Online TV Advertising technologies
Independent

TV
Satellite programming
Emerging Revenues

Bundling
Dedicated
Pay TV platforms
Platform
Television

Television

Whether you are looking to grow, diversify, acquire or defend your

market, a subscription to the Intelligence Centre will provide you
with the analysis, insight, market data and forecasts to underpin
major decisions and reduce risk.
Featuring 10 sector focused channels across TV, broadband and
mobile, the Intelligence Centre provides comprehensive and
unmatched topic, country and company coverage, as well as a
library of presentations from Informa Telecoms & Media’s extensive
conference programme.

Make better business

decisions, starting today:
www.intelligencecentre.net/tv

Join us on LinkedIn: Follow us on Twitter: Email us: Subscribe to our Connect email
www.informatm.com/linkedin www.twitter.com/informatm marketing.enquiries@informa.com www.informatm.com/connect
18
Informa Telecoms & Media has been serving the industry for over 25 years. We have 65 analysts across every continent, all
experts in the collection, interpretation and analysis of primary data. Our clients enjoy direct contact with the analyst team to
support their day-to-day decision making.

With research offices in nine countries and a dedicated forecasting team, we can provide Viettel Corporation with regional and
country level analysis and data across devices, networks, content and services. This unique approach allows us to work in
partnership with our clients on both their global and local strategies.

Our analysis, data and forecasts are delivered through our three core intelligence services:

24/7 access to business-critical
insight, analysis and data.
The Intelligence Centre is a focused
online business tool for those in and
serving the telecoms and media
industries. It features all of our expert
analysis, briefings, data and forecasts
on topics, countries and companies as
soon as it is available. The Intelligence
Centre includes 10 focused channels,
each one providing in-depth primary
and secondary research aimed at
helping you make better business
decisions.
www.intelligencecentre.net
Cutting edge information on all fixed
line, cable and broadband markets.
World Broadband Information Service
(WBIS) is the industrys leading source of
broadband, multichannel TV and fixed-
line market data. As well as access to a
comprehensive, reliable and detailed
global database of historic market data,
KPIs and forecasts, clients also receive
unlimited access to a team of dedicated
analysts. The data supplied by WBIS, as
well as the online tools and analyst
support help you make those important
strategic and tactical decisions.
www.wbisdata.com
Keeping the worlds leading cellular
organisations better informed.
World Cellular Information Service
(WCIS) combines intelligently sourced
primary data from the leading mobile
industry players with reliable forecasts
and an unrivalled analyst support
service. We have close relationships with
the leading operators, vendors and
regulators globally and we have a
dedicated team of forecasters, ensuring
that your decisions are underpinned by
only the most up-to-date and accurate
market data, forecasts and KPIs.
www.wcisdata.com

To discuss how our unique market intelligence services and expert analysts can support Viettel Corporation, please
contact one of our team:

Europe Ajay Sule +44 (0)20 701 74994 ajay.sule@informa.com

North America Nathan Knight +1 415 307 1938 nathan.knight@informa.com

Latin & Central America Marco Esposito +44 (0)20 701 75853 marco.esposito@informa.com

Asia Giovanni Cerrini +65 6835 5158 giovanni.cerrini@informa.com

Middle East & North Africa Giovanni Cerrini +971 4 407 2667 iyassu.soquar@informa.com

Sub-Saharan Africa Rysio Pakula +44 (0)20 701 74823 rysio.pakula@informa.com

Join us on LinkedIn: Follow us on Twitter: Subscribe to our Connect email: Email us:
www.informatm.com/linkedin www.twitter.com/informatm www.informatm.com/linkedin marketing.enquiries@informa.com
Our analysts have produced four reports on
key themes for Viettel Corporation

research.informatm.com/viettelcorporation