Europe is seeing the rise of "Hybrid" TV - integrating traditional TV with online video.
In Sweden, telecom and IPTV operator Helm is planning to launch a multiscreen service using the TiVo interface. Com Hem says it wants to improve the TV experience for its viewers, by expanding viewer options and experiences via time-shifting and place-shifting, bringing TV and apps to multiple devices in the home as well as outside it. Tomas Franzen, CEO of Com Hem, plans to use the TiVo interface to bring "features like TV Everywhere, remote recording, universal search, smart recommendations and access to a wide range of third party interactive applications."
In contrast, Panorama TV is a smart TV app that offers access to live HDTV streaming from 250 European travel destinations, along with weather reports and tourist information. More than a million viewers have accessed the service via smart-TVs since October. Germany's Feratel indicates that it plans to introduce a booking service to the app in the near future.
In-room revenues from VOD and IPTV offerings increased around 150 percent since 2011, according to iBAHN, who provides content services to the hospitality industry. iBahn's service provides smart-TV functionality, including letting guests access their individual streaming subscription content, without the need to update HDTVs to smart TVs.
Ooyala's 2012 Global Video Year in Review report is out, and shows that use of online and mobile videos continues to grow rapidly. The share of streaming video viewing doubled in 2012, with a huge spike of tablet viewing on Christmas Day. That's still only 8% of all video viewing, however. The kind of online videos being watched varied by device. Long-form quality IP videos (TV shows and movies) accounted for 63% of all video viewing on tablets, and about 80% of IP video viewing through connected devices and smart TVs. In contrast, almost half of IP video viewing on smartphones were under 6 minutes in length. Ooyala's metrics are based on the online habits of 200 million users in 130 countries.
A large-sample study from Hitwise Mobile shows that Google's various sites accounted for 5 of the 10 most used portals for mobile broadband (3G, 4G, WiFi) users, and almost a quarter of all visits. Google's YouTube video portal was the second most visited site (4.55% of all hits), and sported the second highest usage in terms of time spent on the site.
A new report from Rovi is indicating that video streaming on mobile devices is on the rise. The report indicates that in the U.S., as well as many countries in Western Europe, more than two-thirds of mobile device owners report watching streaming video on those devices at least 2-3 times a week. Tablet owners reported the longest viewing sessions - about two-thirds of UK and US tablet owners average more than 30 minutes a session. About a third of tablet owners in the UK use their devices primarily to watch TV shows, while a third of tablet video streaming in Germany and the US were movies. Roughly 80% of tablet viewing was in the home. Video streaming sessions tend to be shorter with smartphones - with more viewing of user-generated content and live events, and are more likely to occur outside of the home.. But perhaps the most important result for the future of mobile video was that 93% of US tablet users rated their devices as a good way to view movies and TV shows.
A market report by IHS Screen Digest suggests that a quarter of TV sets shipped in 2012 included Internet capabilities, and by 2015, more than half of all TVs shipped will be smart-TVs
“Consumers are now increasingly buying big-screen TVs that include the Internet capabilities, even if they’re specifically looking for [those capabilities] or not,” Veronica Thayer, TV systems analyst at IHS.The report also notes that partnerships between set manufacturers and IP video apps (see above) are on the rise in Europe and will make their way into US markets - as they offer a way for program producers and distributors to reduce costs while providing greater presence among viewers home entertainment options.
Sources - 'Hybrid TV' Taking off in Europe, FierceIPTV
Global Video Index - 2012 Year in Review, research report from Ooyala
Google Dominates Mobile Sphere, Online Media Daily
Video Streaming Growing in U.S., Europe, MarketingDaily
Smart TV Growth Is Set To Explode, Marketing Daily
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