Half Of ‘Connected’ Europe Enjoys IPTV

Motorola, a corporation in more facets of more industries than Average Joe is aware, conducted a study recently to understand how well Internet television (IPTV), in its various forms, is faring on the eastern side of the Atlantic.

They found IPTV doing quite well. Among all broadband users in Europe, nearly half (45%) are said to watch “at least some television online.” Nearly half. Not too shabby.

Though all of Europe was unfortunately not taken into account, an average quote derived from surveys taken of users’ habits in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain claimed that roughly half of all individuals with access to high-speed connections opt to watch television previews and/or full-length episodes on PCs. France leads the pack with 59%. Germans care less about IPTV. Only about 33% choose to view anything of the sort at Internet terminals, public or private.

More important to mention, however, is the strong belief (again, among roughly half of all surveyed) that television seen via various Internet-based delivery systems will be quite a normality just half a decade from now. They understand that a large percentage of the continent’s population is not entirely content with having to view media at a time preferred by broadcasters, and would rather opt for much more choice and more on-demand provisions.

The demand for such options explains the general excitement about Joost and similar services. Yet adoption of current on-demand service already available isn’t as fast-paced as one would expect. The reason? The price.

Joost will deliver everything on-demand to the user via its proprietary P2P network for free. No charge to the viewer. Instead, revenue derived from advertisements, as it goes in the general realm of over-the-air broadcast television, will keep the business afloat. If current on-demand providers (cable and satellite companies) were to deliver similar benefits at no extra cost (or simply transferred completely to a new, wholly on-demand business model), they would certainly attract more customers.

For years forecasters have been predicting a convergence of Internet and television, which we more or less have yet to witness. (At least one that requires no more genius to connect to than today’s cable and satellite solutions.) As broadband connections become fat enough to allow large quantities of data into private homes (such upgrades are being made as this is being written), convergence will finally be something Average Joe may obtain.

There’s truth to the numbers Motorola has published. The reason for the years of premature predictions is that the medium had yet to catch up with the vision.