IPTV 'to have 15% pay TV share by 2013'

IPTV will account for a 15% share of pay television in Western Europe by 2013, a report from Analysys Mason predicts.

However, the growth of internet protocol television will cause a slow down in overall spending on pay TV, according to the research, because it is generally cheaper than cable and satellite alternatives.

The Pay TV in Western Europe report states IPTV's share of pay TV subscribers in 2007 was 6%. Though it anticipated this will grow to 15%, it will account for only 8% of pay TV spend in 2013.

Analysys Mason predicts cable television will continue to be the most popular pay TV platform in the region, though its share will fall from 58% to 48% in 2013. Satellite services are predicted to increase their share by one percentage point.

"The adoption of IPTV services will be driven by a combination of factors, including the proliferation of multi-play strategies; latent broadband growth; improving brand recognition, broadening content offerings, and the general move towards digital TV services as the analogue TV signal is switched off in Western Europe," said report author Richard Hadley.

"However, the growing popularity of IPTV among households will contribute to a slow down in pay TV spend as these predominantly lower-value TV packages are increasingly bundled with telecoms services."