How has the Internet changed public broadcasting, if at all? It’s a question we should look at as the popularity and accessibility of Internet based television channels and online video streaming increases exponentially.

Back in the twenties John Reith, the first general director of the BBC said that their most important mission was to “inform, educate and entertain”. 

If Mr. Reith had defined this mission today, would he said something else? Has the internet changed the main mission of a license funded public broadcaster?

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A report by technology company Cisco Systems Inc suggests that, in 2008, 60% of all consumer IP traffic will be generated by commercial video services, or IPTV.

It also says 2008 will be the first year where consumer IP traffic will exceed business traffic.

According to the report, high-definition video services and high-speed broadband will see IP traffic almost double every 2 years through to 2011. It also predicts internet video streaming and downloads will account for 30% of all internet traffic in that year.

But as early as 2009, IPTV services bandwidth will eclipse that of internet video-to-PC streaming and downloads, suggests the report.

[Via xchange]

Is it possible that the iPhone could be a catalyst for a surge in mobile IPTV services? That’s what a recent study by the research firm Interpret seems to suggest.

According to the study, since the Apple iPhone’s release 63% of users have viewed videos on it in comparison to 28% of regular cell phone users.

Top of the touch-screen has of course been YouTube with over half of all iPhone owners claiming to have watched at least one YouTube clip on the device. Of this group 46% watched a music video, 34% watched a news report and 32% watched a movie trailer.

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As you may have guessed we are fairly keen on IPTV round these parts. So naturally, we are delighted to hear that the market intelligence firm, iSuppli, has predicted that the IPTV industry is set to multiply by a factor of five by 2011.

The report from iSuppli, ‘IPTV Content and Services 2007: Telecom Companies Turn up the Heat’, details that according to current trends, IPTV will be worth some $26.3 billion by 2011.

The report also indicates that future competition in the industry is likely to be centred on features and benefits, as opposed to price which if true is of course good news for John and Jane Q. Public. Mooted features include high-definition programming, digital video recording and remote access.

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The West has traditionally been the leaders in technological advances over the years, and sees itself as the the most proactive and current part of the world.

But market growth figures and the like are now showing that the East is growing and achieving massive leaps forward in technology. 

It’s citizens are embracing new ventures and online advances quicker than just about anywhere else on the planet.

Take IPTV for instance, a relatively new innovation that, while for many years past had been stuck in figment mode, is now making its way into many markets, and swiftly.

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According to a recent report by ABI Research, IPTV over wireless broadband is an attractive offering for consumers and carriers - but there are many challenges to overcome to ensure it can be delivered effectively.

Whilst IPTV can currently be delivered to homes over wired connections, its bandwidth hungry nature means carriers are constantly scrambling to upgrade infrastructure. Adding to this cost, they have to connect homes (generally via coax cable) to the main cable running down the street.

This is where wireless is clearly advantageous: It’s more cost effective in reaching more consumers and there are no cabling issues to speak of. However, according to the research paper, conventional wireless technology simply wouldn’t cut it when it comes to high quality streaming media.

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The 2007 Future of Media Report was recently published in pdf, in time for the Silicon Valley and Sydney based Future of Media Summit.

In this article, we look at the main concepts, issues and research results discussed in this annual media report.

The 2006 edition of the Future of Media report achieved a great deal of interest, with over 70, 000 downloads of the freely available document across 20 countries.

This year Ross Dawson and the team at Future Exploration Network have put together a compelling picture of the evolving convergence media landscape.

It comes as no surprise, then, to see the huge growth of online social networks and social media taking center stage, alongside a divergence in content monetization and advertising approaches in a rapidly splintering media environment.

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