[Satellite TODAY Insider 03-23-11] Over-the-top (OTT) TV viewers will outnumber IP TV viewers by 2013 as the popularity of services such as BBC iPlayer and Netflix continues to accelerate at an astonishing pace, according to Informa Telecoms Media research issued March 22.
    “By 2015, 380 million people globally will view online video via connected devices such as TVs, games consoles or set-top boxes from the likes of Apple and Google. … In contrast, only 163 million users will be watching managed IPTV services from the likes of Verizon, BT and Orange,” the firm said in the report.
    According to previous Informa reports, there already are more OTT TV viewers than IPTV viewers in the United Kingdom. The divide is expected to widen in 2015, when 3.6 million U.K. viewers are projected to watch IPTV services, compared with 27 million people watching online video.
   “All of the key ingredients for uptake of these services are in place. It’s just a case of consumers getting used to the idea of using them, something that will be driven by the availability of big brands like the iPlayer and marketing pushes from the device manufacturers,” Informa Telecoms Senior Analyst and Lead Author Giles Cottle wrote in the report. “These figures are not necessarily bad news for IPTV providers, but they do leave operators with some tough questions to ask. It highlights the fact that operators should be adding these features into their own services, or even considering delivering their own pay-TV services via these connected devices to stay competitive.”