Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Game Console Vendors to PayTV Operators: You've Been Served!" report to their offering. This report predicts that console-affiliated media portals such as Microsoft's Xbox LIVE and Sony's PlayStation Network will soon become formidable competitors to incumbent PayTV services. Leveraging broadband-enabled game consoles as Over-the-Top video platforms – thus bypassing cable and satellite TV operators – these companies will offer a compelling alternative to traditional TV programming by providing a more immersive, interactive video experience.

This report points to several facts which portend of how powerful these offerings will be:

• Even before today's launch of Experience, Microsoft's Xbox LIVE had amassed some 15,000 movies (1,000 of which are HD) and some 13,000 TV shows for download-to-own. Xbox LIVE was the first online video portal to offer HD downloads for TV viewing
• The Netflix partnership adds 12,000 movies and TV programs to the mix, all for free streaming to Netflix subscribers. This enables Xbox 360 users to access on-demand movies and TV shows within the Xbox Experience social environment with a click of their remote.
• Sony's PlayStation Network has collected close to 1,000 movies and hundreds of TV programs for download-to-own. As well, it has announced plans to expand dramatically its video library in the next few months in order to compete with Xbox LIVE.
• Sony's CEO Howard Stringer noted, "Sony's unique position in electronics and entertainment will enable us to provide specialized offerings for Sony customers directly to their televisions outside conventional distributors and without the need for any set-top box."
• Even Nintendo, staunchly dedicated to pure gaming experiences, is working with Fujisoft to introduce 'Everybody's Theater Channel' to Japanese Wii users in December 2008.

Console Vendors and OTT Video Delivery – Let the Games Begin!, this latest analysis of the Over-the-Top video space, discusses the evolution of console-affiliated media portals within the context of each vendor's strategic imperatives; offers a comparative analysis of current and likely portal video offerings; provides updated global forecasts for broadband-capable and broadband-enabled game consoles through 2012; and forecasts consumer demand for this category of Over-the-Top video services.

Welcome to the age of quantum media, a time in which established media production, aggregation, distribution, and consumption is undergoing rapid disaggregation; a time in which the established media value chain seems to be coming apart at the seams.

In the quantum age, cable and satellite operators are no longer the only game in town. Their longstanding lock on the home is set to be contested as a new wave of competitors emerge, many using the open Internet to bypass incumbent PayTV control points and deliver video programming directly to consumers. TDG long ago coined this as 'Over-the-Top' or 'OTT' video delivery, and of the various platforms capable of enabling OTT video, today's game consoles are among the most potent. These devices are uniquely positioned to lead the OTT charge: they are currently used by more than 90 million households worldwide; they are video-friendly, easily connected to the Internet, connected to the living room TV, and favored by younger consumers with little loyalty to a broadcast network or their local cable company.

This report focuses on the emergence and impact of OTT broadband video via broadband-enabled game consoles and console-affiliated media portals, in particular Microsoft's Xbox 360/LIVE/Experience, Sony's PS3/PlayStation Network/Home, and Nintendo's Wii/Wii Channels. Using each company's strategic position as a backdrop, this report offers a comparative analysis of current and likely portal video offerings; provides updated global forecasts for broadband-capable and broadband-enabled game consoles thru 2012; and forecasts consumer demand for this category of Over-the-Top video services. It is truly a unique report, going well beyond simply "counting the consoles" by revealing the new measure of success for console vendors: Internet attach rates and media sell-thru (specifically video).