Next-generation Interactive Programme Guides (IPGs) are emerging to help consumers wade through a proliferation of TV programmes, movies, concerts and sporting events.
As web TV services and User Generated Content migrate onto regular TVs and other video-capable devices, IPGs are transforming into content and service discovery guides, reports the US based research firm In-Stat.
“A truly valuable content and service discovery guide will be personalized so that it can automatically limit choices to those that are likely to fit a particular end-user’s habits,” said Gerry Kaufhold, In-Stat analyst, in a statement. “It will also have to be intelligent, to be able to search out new things that fit users’ viewing patterns, and it will have to constantly evolve to keep up with new content, products, services, features, functions, and applications.”
Recent research by In-Stat found the following: the IPG market has three revenue segments: one-time licensing fees, recurring fees to update guide data, and advertising. Recurring programme guide fees will approach $850 million by 2013. Guides used in complex networked applications will need to be DLNA-compliant to “discover” content from in-home devices, and move it among network devices.
Among the companies referenced in the research are Adobe, Harris, Microsoft, Move Networks, NDS and Rovi.
