IPTV Positioning: Should Be Transformed from Broadband-filled to Revenue-based Products

The "IPTV and Internet TV Forum" was held at the CCBN 2012 in the same period. At the meeting, Shi Weijia, director of the converged video product line of the Shanghai Telecommunications Research Institute, hoped that IPTV will gradually transform from broadband-filled products to revenue-generating products.

As a combination of broadcast television services and telecommunication services, the IPTV service is one of the typical applications of triple play. After the introduction of the new network integration policy, Radio and Television is responsible for the integration and control of IPTV, and telecommunications is responsible for IPTV business operations. The gradual and clear cooperation model has brought about rapid development of IPTV.

According to Shi Weijia, as of the end of 2011, China Telecom has developed more than 12 million IPTV subscribers. There are more than 1 million users in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Shanghai, Fujian and Anhui. “China Telecom’s IPTV has reached tens of millions of users, and IPTV service is an important product on broadband networks and is also a core application in digital homes, so we hope to gradually transition IPTV from broadband-filled products to revenue-generating products.” Shi Weijia said, "We are actively exploring the development mode of value-added services in IPTV, such as games, karaoke, television payment, financial management, health, etc."

According to CCID Consulting's forecast data, in 2012, the scale of China's IPTV subscribers is expected to reach 21.102 million, an increase of 7.517 million over 2011, with a growth rate of 55.3%. In 2014, the number of IPTV subscribers in China will reach 40.424 million. It has almost doubled its growth rate compared to 2011.