Multi-screen TV now widely available in U.S and Europe

By mid-2011, TV Everywhere services will be available to 81% of U.S. and Canadian Pay TV subscribers through their current service provider, according to Parks Associates, which makes the prediction in the report ‘TV Everywhere: Growth, Solutions, and Strategies’. Already today, 40% of subscribers in Western Europe can receive a multi-screen service from their current Pay TV provider. “U.S. TV service providers in particular have moved aggressively as consumer data show multi-screen services can help reduce churn and attract younger subscribers,” the research company points out.

Nearly 40% of U.S. broadband consumers aged 18-34 find TV Everywhere services very appealing, the company reveals. It adds that 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.

“Service providers realize they need to be the consumer’s primary source of video content on all platforms,” says Brett Sappington, Senior Analyst, 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.

TV Everywhere services activity has picked up significantly over the past year but multi-screen services in regions outside the U.S. and Western Europe are only now emerging. Twelve per cent 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. Parks Associates adds that 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.