Parks: TV Everywhere to reach more than 80% of North American pay-TV subscribers in 2011

Market research and analysis firm Park Associates estimates that “TV Everywhere” services will be available to 81% of U.S. and Canadian pay-TV subscribers through their current service provider by the middle of this year. The prediction is contained Parks Associates’ new report, TV Everywhere: Growth, Solutions, and Strategies.

U.S. TV service providers in particular have moved aggressively as consumer data show multiscreen services can help reduce churn and attract younger subscribers. Nearly 40% of U.S. broadband consumers ages 18-34 find TV Everywhere services very appealing, Parks says.

Globally, service providers are expanding their multiscreen services due to competition from online video sources, the entrance of other operators, and the dramatic increase of online and mobile video usage over the past three years.

"Service providers realize they need to be the consumer's primary source of video content on all platforms," said Brett Sappington, senior analyst at Parks Associates. "In North America and Western Europe in particular, TV Everywhere has moved rapidly from a handful of offerings to widespread availability. Today, operators from all sectors -- telco, cable, and satellite -- now offer online access to VoD or live TV, with several adding support for smartphones and tablets."

In North America, most initiatives are available to subscribers at no additional cost. Comcast has been an early leader in this area, launching Fancast Xfinity TV in December 2009.

However, pay-TV providers in Western Europe, including Sky, Ziggo, and Orange, launched multiscreen services prior to their North American counterparts, with some offering services as early as 2006. But activity in TV Everywhere services has picked up significantly over the past year. Today, 40% of subscribers in Western Europe can receive a multiscreen service from their current pay-TV provider, according to the report.

Multiscreen services in other regions are only now emerging, the report adds. Twelve percent of pay-TV subscribers in Eastern Europe can receive a TV Everywhere service from their current provider, with many operators deploying this feature as part of new IP-based systems. Services in South Korea and Japan lag other developed nations due to the ability of mobile phones in those countries to receive TV signals via digital terrestrial broadcasts.

TV Everywhere: Growth, Solutions, and Strategies analyzes the market factors, technologies, and consumer adoption that have contributed to the growth of multiscreen services around the world. The report also examines the issues and trends that will define the future for these services.

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