The new IP TV Market Leader Report measures the competitive position of 62 suppliers for 223 service providers -- "Some of the sector highlights include surprises: in the Middleware sector, Microsoft joined forces with Alcatel, winning long-term contracts with SBC in the U.S. In Set-top Boxes, while competition remains balanced among multiple suppliers, such as Motorola, Pace, Amino, Kreatel, i3 and others, Yuxing gained strength in Asia based on its deployment in PCCW/Hong Kong. In VOD Servers, while Kasenna and Bitband maintained leadership in North America and Europe, respectively, Entone won a big contract with PCCW (Hong Kong), which strengthened its position in China. In Access Hardware, while Motorola maintained dominance in small U.S. independent telcos, its global market position slipped due in part to the industry trend towards Gigabit Ethernet/IP and away from its ATM technology. In the Content Protection sector, Widevine has taken a strong position in Asia and North America, while Via Access is doing well with its deployment in France Telecom."
The global streaming industry has spent the better part of a decade chasing subscriber counts as the primary metric of success. That era is now formally over. New market data from Omdia confirms that the industry has crossed a decisive threshold; one that shifts the competitive playing field from growth-at-all-costs to monetization discipline. For senior executives navigating media, advertising, and technology strategy, the implications extend well beyond entertainment. A Historic Revenue Crossover Online video revenue increased 13.5 percent to $176 billion in 2025, while pay-TV revenue declined 4 percent to $170 billion; marking the first time in the industry's history that streaming has surpassed legacy pay-TV in revenue terms. This is not a rounding error or a statistical artifact; it represents the culmination of more than a decade of structural disruption to the traditional broadcast and cable TV model. Global subscriptions to online video services reached 2.24 billion by the ...