Skip to main content

Re-Imagine IPTV: the Untapped Opportunity

I'm one of the many people now following Alan Weinkrantz's SAtechBlog with great interest while he documents his impressions as an open-minded AT&T U-verse IPTV trial participant in San Antonio, Texas. Today I posted the following comment on Alan's site.

I remain upbeat about the raw potential for IPTV in the U.S. market, but the apparent lack of value-added service delivery imagination needs to be addressed. IMHO, this isn't a huge problem, yet -- instead, it's still a huge un-tapped opportunity.

As you know, I�ve been researching the evolution of the digital home phenomenon, connected consumers and their associated digital lifestyle applications -- while consulting for my client, Motive, Inc., for the last year. In the process I�ve witnessed the recent developments coming from the many launch trials and commercial IPTV deployments worldwide, and they have been a truly interesting learning exercise.

Likewise, your ongoing insights and commentary regarding your personal first-hand assessment of the �consumer experience� with the AT&T U-verse offering have been invaluable to me and others who have more than a passing interest in these developments that are reshaping the communications and entertainment sectors.

That said, your observations have solidly reinforced my opposition to the industry analysts and pundits who recommend that the telcos must initially emulate the incumbent pay-TV provider�s user experience. They insist that even the early-adopters of IPTV are not willing to consider a different user experience. I don�t agree with this myopic assessment, because the compelling evidence from IPTV deployments in other parts of the world are conclusive � �me too� offers with �more of the same� are no substitute for creative consumer-centric innovation.

Once the IPTV columns are online at the Broadband 2.0 website, I will alert you so that you can share them with your blog readers, as you see fit. In the mean time, I�m already looking for the opportunity to take some of my research results, conclusions and product ideas to a receptive U.S. telco, cable tv or satellite player who is bold enough to put some meaningful differentiation into their offering.

It�s never too late to be inventive; even in a crowded space like consumer electronics and entertainment. Case in point -- Apple wasn�t the first to market with an mp3 player, and now that they have captured 75 percent of the global market, does anyone still doubt the power of creative design?

Popular posts from this blog

Open Banking Usage to Grow by 470 Percent

The Open Banking business model has been advantageous for Third-Party Providers (TPPs), helping them to extend their offerings into other areas of financial services with new capabilities. Open Banking is also advantageous for traditional banking institutions, despite the perceived loss of custodianship over their data, by providing greater accessibility to more bank services. Furthermore, Open Banking can help serve Mobile Internet providers that are able to leverage it to create tailored services according to customers’ preferences and/or economic limitations. Open Banking Market Development Since traditional banking services are made more convenient by TPPs via greater data access, customers can proactively manage their finances and shape the development of new financial offerings. This is particularly noticeable in the realm of Digital Payments, where retail merchants and customers transact through eCommerce, which has the greatest number of use cases for Open Banking. These includ
Read more

Why Instant Issuance Payment Cards Evolved

The global financial services sector continues to grow as more progressive organizations seek to gain a meaningful competitive advantage from their digital transformation initiatives. Across the globe, many regions are seeing a significant rise in 'instant issuance' activity from a physical and digital perspective, from both traditional and emerging innovative banking institutions. Digital Payments Market Development Customers increasingly demand instant access to banking services, with physical instant issuance enabling them to leave their branch equipped with a ready-to-go payment card. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, the market for instantly issued physical payment cards will increase from 243.2 million shipments in 2022 to a forecast of 471.1 million in 2027. "Critically, instant issuance of payment cards is no longer limited to the physical," said Sam Gazeley, industry analyst at ABI Research . Indeed, the growing digitization of p
Read more

Global Digital Business and IT Consulting Outlook

Across the globe, CEOs and their leadership teams continue to seek information and guidance about planned Digital Transformation initiatives and the most effective enterprise organization change management practices. Worldwide IT and Business Services revenue will grow from $1.13 trillion in 2022 to $1.2 trillion in 2023 -- that's a 5.7 percent year-over-year growth, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The mid-term to long-term outlook for the market has also increased -- the five-year CAGR is forecast at 5.2 percent, compared to the previous 4.9 percent. Digital Sevices & Consulting Market Development IDC has raised the growth projection despite a weak economic outlook, because of vendor performances across 2022, growth indicators from adjacent markets, increased government funding, and inflation impacts. The actual 2022 market growth was 6.7 percent (in constant currency), which was 87 basis points higher than forecast last year, alth
Read more