Television via Internet protocols becomes an additional channel

The advancement of broadband Internet opens up good prospects for TV transmission via Internet protocols, or IPTV for short. Most European countries have already successfully launched IPTV on the market. In Germany, the commercial rollout is expected from summer 2006. According to a study by the consulting firm Goldmedia, IPTV has the potential to become a serious competitor to existing infrastructure channels such as cable and satellite. The forecast assumes that 1.3 million households will be receiving IPTV in 2010. If you look at France, for example, you can see what IPTV means with the provider Free. For 29.99 euros a month, you get around 70 TV channels, DSL access and the option of free telephony. However, the big advantage of IPTV is the universal return channel. It allows video-on-demand and offers interactive options such as shopping, online games, sports betting, auctions and voting. IPTV allows interactive advertising formats and the distribution of special interest channels and programs for specific target groups. However, it is still difficult to predict how the market will develop. IPTV is conceivable as a fully-fledged infrastructure alongside existing TV distribution models, but also as a supplementary offering to existing TV programs.