Business Considerations for Internet TV

The recent rapid growth of fast broadband access, accelerated computer power and larger storage capacity has turned Internet TV into a real opportunity for service providers who want to open new revenue streams and increase ARPU.

A major advantage of Internet TV is that it allows content delivery to a huge population with virtually no geographical limitations. But while Internet TV is a much easier and cheaper way of publishing content, operators who are pondering whether to launch an Internet TV service nevertheless have to carefully assess the factors affecting their business cases.

High-quality Internet TV services require subscribers to have continuous access to high bandwidth, so pricing, bandwidth, and network neutrality (at least in the US) are all interdependent factors affecting the business case for Internet TV. For example, while subscribers are generally required to pay more for higher internet bandwidth, it doesn't automatically guarantee good enough bandwidth quality for receiving Internet TV services. So to receive Internet TV, a subscriber will be required to subscribe to an even higher premium service which may present a barrier to scaling up subscribers quickly.