The European market for IPTV (internet protocol television) will double in 2007, according to the latest figures from media analysts, Screen Digest.

Looking at the 54 IPTV services across Europe, the survey shows that IPTV is the fastest growing pay-TV platform, outstripping all other platforms combined.

Screen Digest forecasts that subscriptions to IPTV services across Europe will almost double from 2.9 million in 2006 to 5.6 million in 2007, with subscription revenues from IPTV increasing from €470 million to over €1 billion. Almost 1 million of those new customers will be in France.

In the UK, analysts forecast that subscriber numbers will grow from 80,000 to 300,000 by the end of this year. BT has recently launched its service, with Tiscali and France Telecom to follow in the autumn.

The top five IPTV operators in Europe - Orange, Telefónica, Free Telecom, Neuf Telecom and Fastweb - accounted for 60% of the total IPTV market in the five countries at the end of 2006.

Screen Digest expects that these operators will remain in their respective positions throughout 2007, with Neuf Telecom and Free Telecom vying for second place in France.

Digital terrestrial television (DTT) is one of the main driving forces of IPTV uptake in France, Spain and the UK, with ten IPTV services using hybrid DTT/IPTV boxes in the three markets.

Such services are popular because they allow customers to access the DTT channels for free, and give them the option to take pay-TV and Video on Demand (VoD). BT in the UK and France’s Darty are two operators using this model, with Italy’s Rai currently trialling it.

Screen Digest analyst, Richard Broughton, said: "2007 is set to be the strongest year yet for IPTV. Companies which launched their services last year will be marketing in earnest, while those already established are well placed to build on last year’s success."