Telcos will market OTT services
November 27, 2008
As cable providers beef up their PC video offerings, satellite and telco operators increasingly see over-the-top broadband video delivery as a viable option to shore up their own weaknesses. Over the past year, both DirecTV and DISH Network have rolled out over-the-top Video On Demand on Internet-connected set-top boxes, while telcos in Europe have been combining digital terrestrial linear TV broadcasts with broadband video for VOD. ABI Research believes that as broadband video offerings increase in quality and become more seamless, carriers could be significant players in the over-the-top video delivery market.
“Carrier-packaged over-the-top video delivery is a reality today in most markets,” says research director Michael Wolf of ABI Research. “The fact is, broadband video is a way for some carriers to fill holes relative to larger closed-network operators such as cable MSOs, and we think over time more satellite, telco and European terrestrial operators will utilise broadband video delivery as a component of their overall offering.”