Meeting demand

摘要

After years of preparation, cable and IPTV operators are at last beginning to rollout VOD in earnest in Europe. As in the US, access to free on-demand content is stimulating interest in network DVR and advertising-supported on-demand content. Video-on-demand is finally beginning to make real progress in Europe. The high-profile launch of services by cable operators such as NTL-Telewest in the UK, Ono in Spain and Telenet in Belgium has shown the way forward for operators elsewhere. Telecom and fibre operators are also moving forwards with on-demand services, but the rate of subscriber growth for IPTV remains much lower than initially expected. Amongst European cable MSOs, the two UK operators, NTL and Telewest (now merged), forged ahead of their continental counterparts. The pair can now deliver on-demand programming to two million out of a total of three million digital TV households.