Growing sales of Internet-enabled or connected TVs will help push video service providers to move more quickly to develop offerings that combine elements of conventional pay TV with over-the-top Internet video in an effort to maintain service revenues, but the migration path to hybrid video is uncertain at this point, according to the latest report from Heavy Reading Insider, a paid research service of Heavy Reading.

Connected TVs Will Help Drive Big Changes in Video Services examines the potential impact of connected TVs, also known as smart TVs, on the video services business from the perspective of IPTV technology suppliers, including those also developing software for connected TVs. It maps the factors affecting how connected TVs are likely to be used and their role in shaping future video services. The report considers whether connected TVs threaten to derail service innovation or will propel the established pay TV community to faster incorporation of OTT content into their managed services and app stores into their front-end design. It also looks at how connected TVs might be used by service providers to extend the reach of their TV and other communications offers. Finally, the report profiles leading suppliers of end-to-end IPTV solutions and set-top boxes, as well as manufacturers of connected TVs.

For a list of companies covered in this report, http://img.lightreading.com/lri/pdf/hri0511_companies.pdf

"Connected TVs clearly will have an impact on the pay TV world and IPTV in particular," notes Danny Dicks, research analyst with Heavy Reading Insider and author of the report. "The big question right now is how disruptive connected TV will be to the established business models of pay TV providers and their ecosystem of suppliers, and to what extent connected TV will spur innovation in service design and delivery in what is already a very dynamic industry."

IPTV and other pay TV providers must speed up their development of hybrid services, learning both from the experiences of those innovative operators that have launched such services and from the success of connected TV manufacturers' services and those of their platform providers, Dicks says. "They need to think more creatively about ways they can embrace connected TVs as part of their offering. Dealing with connected TV manufacturers might offer a way to develop new services that complement the existing delivery of services," he adds.

Key findings of Connected TVs Will Help Drive Big Changes in Video Services include the following:

• Connected TVs offer a simple alternative to other device-based OTT video consumption – one that now poses a threat to pay TV service provider revenue.
• Connected TV platforms are replicating essentially all the functions of pay TV services, with an increasing amount of both free and paid content to choose from.
• Pay TV service providers cannot afford to ignore the impact that connected TVs will have on their business.
• The IPTV community is looking at connected TVs both defensively and with an eye for new opportunities that may open up.
• Solution vendors must consider connected TV makers as a new route to market for their technology.