While floor traffic at NAB 2009 was better-than-expected for the IPTV sector, the show has been a continuation of a trend that leaves IPTV under-delivered and over-exposed, according to a sales representative for satellite and IP receiver manufacturer Atlanta DTH, who asked not to be named for this story.
    “As usual, we have been seeing a lot of interest from customers in the Latin America and Asia-Pacific regions but not from the markets that IPTV service providers and manufacturers hoped for,” said the representative. “I think that 2009 is the year for IPTV to really make a splash. Then again, that’s what we were saying at the beginning of last year. We’ll see.”
    While IPTV has established itself in France and in niche strongholds scattered throughout the United States and Asia, some are disappointed that the service has been slow to be accepted by a broader market. However, some companies see strong evidence that the tipping point for IPTV growth is within sight.
    Olesya Polovkova, sales director for Russian IPTV solutions provider Elecard, said the growth of IPTV services in the Russian market will be supported by the economic downturn. “We’ve heard from our customers at the networks that they see the global economy as a window to promote new offerings to an audience that will not go out as much to save money,” said Polovkova. “We’re very pleased with the progress we have made at this show.”
    When it comes to the effect that the economic downturn will have on the IPTV market, industry analysts are mixed in their opinions. Research firm, Infonetics in its latest report, “IPTV and Switched Digital Video, Equipment, Services and Subscribers,” lowered its long-term IPTV forecast and expects a slow-down in IPTV subscriber growth and cable switchovers attributed to the economic downturn.
    Research group In-Stat disagreed with Infonetics, projecting in “Worldwide Telco TV Services: Explosive Growth Continues,” that IPTV will be unaffected by the economic recession and that subscribers to telco and IPTV services will more than triple by the end of 2012.  ABI Research also released an optimistic IPTV report, “Pay-TV Subscriptions,” in January, which predicts a 32 percent growth of IPTV subscribers annually over the next six years to nearly 79 million global subscribers by the end of 2014.
    Despite analyst projections, vendors admit that the IPTV sector is operating under the cloud of a credit crunch. “Advertisers are cutting their costs when it comes to televised media,” said Polovkova. “This eventually leads to decreased revenues for them to employ new technologies. While some telcos, like the ones we deal with, are having no problems at all, we still depend on a strong customer base and a constantly generating revenue stream from advertising. In an economic downturn, it’s the same situation for all broadcasters — satellite, cable or IPTV.”