The cost of deploying new IPTV services can be reduced by as much as 33% if operators select open, scalable and more flexible middleware, according to a new white paper released by Espial. With middleware like Espial's Evo IPTV Service Platform, operators can save upwards of $195 million when deploying new IPTV services, based on a five-year deployment scenario to one million subscribers.

The white paper, written in conjunction with outside consultants, and incorporating industry research and Espial's experience deploying to over one million IPTV subscribers, analyzes the role that middleware plays in the total cost of ownership of an IPTV service. Findings include how next-generation middleware allows operators to reduce set-top box costs by 39%. These STB savings reflect the benefits of a smaller footprint, data-driven architecture that can leverage lower-cost, longer-life set-top boxes. Another 35% and 42% savings, respectively, can be realized on the IPTV middleware itself and related IPTV ecosystem costs due to an architecture that can support over 100,000 subscribers per application server and provides easy-to-integrate adapters for ecosystem/OSS/BSS components and data management.

"The choice of a next-generation middleware platform, such as Espial's Evo, plays a major role in reducing an operator's cost of deploying and maintaining an IPTV service, thereby increasing the return on investment," said Brian Mahony, Espial's Vice President of Marketing. "While operators are spending billions on network infrastructure and other IPTV ecosystem components, the right IPTV middleware can be the difference between financial success or failure of the project."

Other findings show how half of service creation and innovation costs can be saved. These innovations include new revenue-generating triple play and mobile convergence applications, and new user interfaces personalized to the needs of geographically or demographically diverse subscriber communities.