Over the course of recent months, iTV services around the world have undergone moderate development. This relative growth was steered by a number elements, particularly:

• the rate of TV broadcasting’s digitisation, closely bound to the development of iTV services, and which has been slower than expected over the past three years. The deployment of digital TV technologies is still largely based on subscriptions to TV offers, while the rate of growth for the pay-TV market has generally been on the decline over the past while. The number of digital TV homes therefore still remains below the number of analogue homes.
• "failure" in terms of audience and the level of viewer acceptance of certain applications which had, in theory, been targeted as core. Disappointment has reigned particularly in the areas of :

• interactive advertising which remains fledgling;
• t-commerce which, after an enthusiastic start among vendors, is now at a difficult stage marked by the withdrawal of many shops from a number of platforms.
• web TV set whose limitations have been reached, with the exception of the use of personal communication tools (mail, chat…).

IDATE estimates that, in all, at the end of 2001 close to 75 million individuals around the world (or 32.3 million homes TV) were iTV service users (whether browsing an EPG, subscribing to PPV services, using VOD services, connecting to an independent iTV service, taking part in a enhanced TV programme or accessing the net via their TV set). By 2010, iTV service usage will therefore involve 300 million people around the world.

Europe is still the geographical zone were iTV’s penetration rate is at its highest (56% of individual iTV service users at the end of 2001), followed by the US (34%), Japan (8%) and Latin America (2%). Everywhere else, the market remains in its early stages, home to either underdeveloped offers or pilot projects.

The world’s major geographical zones distinguish themselves not only in terms of the level of penetration of iTV services overall, they also present disparities in terms of the most popular services amongst viewers, the level of deployment of the different types of broadcasting network supporting these services (satellite, cable, terrestrial, ADSL…) and, naturally, these networks’ level of digitisation.

• Europe maintains its lead

   

IDATE estimates that by late 2001, of the 25 million digital TV homes in the European Union, roughly 17 million homes (or 41.5 million individuals) could be considered active iTV service users.

The UK currently constitutes the world’s most highly developed market. It boasts the largest digital TV subscriber base in Europe (7.7 million). Satellite’s strong presence, thanks to Sky Digital who is very proactive in the field, has also contributed considerably to the success of iTV services in that country. The BBC as well is very involved in the market’s evolution, having developed over 59 interactive applications in 2001. Cable operators Telewest and NTL lag behind Sky Digital, although their offer is relatively advanced: Telewest, for instance, offers viewers over 120 services including internet access, EPG, t-commerce, music and games on demand.

At the end of 2001, the number of digital TV subscribers in France had exceeded the three million mark. Cable operators have undertaken minimal initiatives: only Noos offers some 15 services. The launch of digital terrestrial TV (DTT) has yet to take place, and the country’s iTV market is dominated by satellite platforms. Canalsatellite and TPS were offering over 100 permanent iTV services at the end of last year.

Spain is no doubt Europe’s third largest market with two million digital TV subscribers. Here again, it is the country’s satellite platforms Via Digital and CSD who are leading the way.

• USA: the iTV market driven by cable

   

Satellite, which is still the leading digital platform in the US (17.5 million homes), represents the short term growth engine for the iTV market. Echostar has enhanced its offer of services with a new interactive portal that includes horoscopes, weather services, sports news, subscriber information and games (for pay). The Dish offer is nevertheless restricted to subscribers equipped with an "interactive STB."

There were 15.2 million homes subscribing to a digital TV offer at the end of 2001. Cable operators’ initiatives have focused more on VOD than on developing an offer of iTV services, either associated with or independent of TV programmes. Concurrent Computer, nCube and SeaChange are the country’s leading VOD servers. According to these firms, between 20 and 30 million subscribers are connected to a VOD server in the US. A new development involving SVOD, or Subscriber VOD, has been subject to several trials with users and appears to hold promise.

Interactive advertising has been the focus of a great many tests in America. Wink Communications has been particularly active in organizing campaigns. On a larger scale, Wink and its rival Respond TV have enabled the development of interactive functions in the country: information linked to programmes, coupon requests and even sales. TV channels as well are offering enhanced TV programmes. According to Trace Strategies, 35 channels in the US were offering interactive services last year. Of the total body enhanced TV programmes available in 2001, the largest share (25% of services) involved incorporating complementary information into a programme (guest bios, photos, locating…).

Nevertheless, the North American market still trails behind Europe: at the end of 2001, 25 million individuals could be considered active iTV service users.

 

• Asia: a variety of technological choices

   

Apart from Japan where, like Europe, satellite platform operators are leading the iTV market’s development, it is cable and ADSL networks that appear to be the platforms of choice for developing iTV in Asian nations such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Singapore.

In Japan, the leading digital TV platform Sky Perfect TV was serving over 2.5 million subscribers in late 2001. In addition to an EPG, it offers viewers personal communication tools and programmes on demand. Parallel to this, the country’s top cable operator, Jupiter, offers its 1.2 million subscribers interactive news, game and t-commerce services. New interactive service development initiatives are expected for the near future. Here, the Plate-One joint venture (Mitsubishi corporation, Nippon Television Network corporation, NTT Communications Corporation, NTT DoCoMo Inc and WOWOW Inc), in early 2002 launched a platform of digital satellite TV services (Plate-One) that includes TV channels and associated services. The offer is expected to include pay-per-view, t-commerce and internet access via the set.

Unveiled in 1998, the "iTV" offer marketed by Hong Kong Telecom could be accessed by 100,000 homes in early 1999. Operating over a fibre optic network, the offer initially included video on demand (700 titles), t-commerce and transaction-based services. In Taiwan, telephone operator Chunghwa Telecom has plans to launch a VOD via ADSL service in 2002. In Korea, "It’s TV" was scheduled to launch a service over high-speed phone lines in May of this year, combining access to classic terrestrial and cable services, VOD and access to the web. In Singapore telecom operator SinTel ran trials on VOD and interactive entertainment services via ADSL over the course of 2001.

• Latin America: very recent launch

   

Interactive services are available in Argentina, Mexico and Brazil although a number of them are still in the trial phase.

Direct Interactive TV was the first offer of interactive services to be launched in South America. As it stands, the iTV service offer includes t-banking, games, t-mail and rich media programmes based on the Elle and Discovery Channels. The offer is completed with PPV services. It is available in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Cable operators have made very recent forays onto the market. In 2001, trials on interactive services were announced by Microsoft in collaboration with Mexico’s leading cable operator, Cablevision. Middleware provider Worldgate targets smaller markets, notably Columbia with TV Cable and the Dominican Republic with TeleCable Nacional which uses the software solution to offer web TV services to viewers.

• Israel, Australia, South Africa: home to a growing dynamic

   

In Israel, satellite television operator Yes recently concluded an agreement with NDS to offer interactive services. In Australia, satellite TV operator Austar launched its services in October 2001. They include t-mail, shopping, an EPG and games along with interactive advertising and local weather services. A number of programmes have been enhanced. The offer marketed by cable operator Optus is similar to Austar’s, albeit limited for the nonce given its small subscriber base but offering NVOD and partial access to the web as well. In South Africa, satellite platform DSTV has been offering iTV services since early 2002, including t-commerce, communication services (TV messaging) and an EPG.

Number of digital TV homes and iTV service users around the world, end of 2001