The number of IPTV subscribers nearly quadrupled last year in the Americas but not at the expense of satellite TV, according to market research firm iSuppli.
The number of IPTV subscribers in North and South America grew to 1.8 million in 2007, up 257.1 percent from 501,000 in 2006. The vast majority of those subscribers were in the North America, specifically in the United States.
U.S. telcos and leading IPTV providers Verizon and AT&T collectively reached 1.2 million subscribers at the end of the fourth quarter of 2007, up 294.9 percent from 296,000 in the fourth quarter of 2006. AT&T’s U-Verse service accounted for 231,000 of those subscribers, while Verizon had 943,000.
During the same time, satellite TV subscribers in North and South America rose to 39.5 million, up from 36.3 million in 2006. North America’s leading satellite television providers, DirecTV and EchoStar, added 2.1 million subscribers during the same period.
For more information, visit www.isuppli.com.