The latest statistics from Point Topic , a UK broadband analyst , has revealed that global broadband Internet TV ( IPTV ) service growth in early adopter countries (US, France, Hong Kong etc.) remains "steady rather than spectacular". There are currently (Q2 2009) 26.3 million IPTV subscribers worldwide, which is up from 17.1 million (+53%) a year previously.

However the number of markets with notable IPTV deployments has quadrupled in the last 5 years, with many new services springing up in South America, Eastern and Western Europe. Still the growth has not been as rapid as some IPTV evangelists might have hoped for. IPTV has a number of problems, not least the attractive propositions presented by existing terrestrial, cable and satellite based rivals.


The bandwidth required for streaming video services is yet another challenge, especially in the UK where many of the largest ISPs are also the cheapest. Finding the cash needed to afford all that extra capacity is difficult and expensive. Orange has already shelved its IPTV plans twice, while BT Vision and Tiscali TV have struggled.

Never the less IPTV growth is still heading in a steady upward direction and Point Topic suggests that it's more a case of.. "don't believe the hype, but ignore its future at your peril."