Advanced Television

IPGs transform as online content migrates to TV

September 30, 2009

Next-generation Interactive Programme Guides (IPG) are emerging that help consumers wade through a proliferation of TV programmes, movies, concerts and sporting events. As Internet Content and User Generated Content (UGC) migrate onto TVs and other video-capable devices, IPGs are transforming into Content and Service Discovery Guides (CSDGs), reports In-Stat.

“A truly valuable CSDG will be personalizsd so that it can automatically limit choices to those that are likely to fit a particular end-user’s habits,” says Gerry Kaufhold, In-Stat analyst. “It will also have to be intelligent, to be able to search out new things that fit users’ viewing patterns, and it will have to constantly evolve to keep up with new content, products, services, features, functions, and applications.”

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

– The IPG market has three revenue segments: one-time licensing fees, recurring fees to update guide data, and advertising.

– Recurring programme guide fees will approach $850 million by 2013.

– In-Stat identified eighteen types of delivery services that may need to acquire EPG, IPG or CSDG solutions.

– Guides used in complex networked applications will need to be DLNA-compliant to “discover” content from in-home devices, and move it among network devices.

– Among the companies referenced in the research are: Adobe, Harris, Microsoft, Move Networks, NDS and Rovi.

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Categories: IPG, Middleware, Research Library