CCID Consulting and the first Chinese consulting firm, recently released its article on China's IPTV market. In 2008, with China Telecom's vigorous promotion, China's number of IPTV subscribers grew rapidly, up 100% year-on-year. The rapid growth drove the development of IPTV's equipment market, and with the promotion of free and bundling marketing, subscribers in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong have taken shape. However, telecom operators have found it difficult to gain profit in IPTV. In 2009, because of global financial crisis, telecom operators' capital and resource investment in IPTV promotion will meet tests. How to guarantee the IPTV market's sustainable development has become the whole of the industrial focus for IPTV.

TV-Desi and JumpTV launch a new IPTV service delivering the largest selection of live South Asian television content to viewers in the United States and Canada. TV-Desi is the first IPTV service dedicated to the Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities in North America delivering a television viewing experience. This subscription-based service provides live content in superior video quality using a broadband Internet connection and unique set top box technology.

Verimatrix is expanding its presence in Asia-Pacific with the opening of its new regional headquarters in Singapore. The new office forms the hub of Verimatrix's regional footprint, which is complemented with a series of additions to its Asia-Pacific sales and support team based throughout the region. Verimatrix addresses the content security needs of the growing IPTV operators in the region, and has extended its focus to the needs of broadcast and cable pay-TV providers as they undergo the conversion to digital format.

BSNL has extended its contract with UTStarcom to build the second phase of a countrywide multiplay network launched in December 2007. UTStarcom deployed 1.3 million broadband subscriber lines during the first phase of BSNL's multiplay network deployment and UTStarcom continues to remain India's leading provider of IPTV and broadband infrastructure in terms of scope of deployments and total commercially-deployed subscriber lines.

Optibase encoders have been selected by UTStarcom as part of an end-to-end integrated IPTV solution to Sri Lanka Telecom. Sri Lanka Telecom will use UTStarcom’s RollingStream advanced IPTV solution, which incorporates Optibase’s H.264 streaming platforms, to offer the country’s first ever triple play services. Optibase's H.264 Media Gateway 5100 encoding platforms, renowned for their top video quality and quick deployment, offer a highly reliable streaming solution.

UTStarcom announced a contract with Aksh Optifibre to deploy UTStarcom's end-to-end RollingStream IPTV solution in 20 cities on Bharat Sanchar Nigam's ADSL 2+ network, a UTStarcom-built multiplay infrastructure that currently supports more than 75 percent of the active wirelines in India.

The IPTV offering which will be made available to more than 250,000 BSNL broadband subscribers in 20 cities throughout India with Aksh's iControl service, gives both large cities and small towns the opportunity to experience interactive entertainment such as time-shifting, VOD, interactive gaming, live television voting and distance learning programs.

CCTV has launched its IPTV service pilot in Beijing in time for the start of the Olympic Games using 80 Envivio 4Caster encoders. CCTV is one of the companies licensed to provide IPTV services in China and is the official Internet and Mobile Broadcaster for the 2008 Olympic Games. Envivio is a strategic partner to CCTV.com for the broadcast of the Games.

Brightcove has appointed technology industry leader and entrepreneur Hisashige Hashimoto as general manager of Brightcove KK, Brightcove's Japan-based subsidiary. It was also announced that Web TV distribution giant, PRESENTCAST selected the Brightcove Internet video platform for gorin.jp, the exclusive online video portal in Japan for coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. gorin.jp is backed by all of Japan's commercial television broadcasters.

Guangxi Telecom has chosen UTStarcom's industry-leading RollingStream IPTV platform to deploy a new interactive advertising system. Guangxi Telecom is the first service provider in China to deploy IPTV for building-based video advertising.

UTStarcom will provide Guangxi Telecom with 3,600 concurrent IPTV streams for the initial deployment of the interactive advertising system in 14 Guangxi cities. In the first phase, set-top boxes will be deployed in supermarkets, department stores, office buildings and in Guangxi Telecom's facilities in Nanning, Liuzhou, Guiling, Qinzhou, Guigang, Wuzhou, Beihai and Baise.

BNS has been appointed by Indonesian telecommunications provider Multi Kontrol Nusantara to design and procure a turnkey HD & SD IPTV service platform. BNS’s IPTV Service Platform design will enable MKN to deliver high and standard definition video services, including multicast, VOD, Network PVR, Time-Shift-TV, eShopping, games and others.

Built on a core fibre backbone, metro ethernet and various broadband access network technologies, the network’s infrastructure will enable cost effective and highly reliable delivery of multimedia services to residential, office buildings and hotels.

UTStarcom has signed a new contract with Aksh Optifibre that expands the operator's deployment of the industry-leading RollingStream IPTV solution. UTStarcom's second deal with Aksh demonstrates the company's continued commitment to building and delivering IPTV capabilities throughout India.

Aksh originally selected UTStarcom in early 2007 to deliver the first commercial IPTV service in India through Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL) in Delhi. The current contract helps Aksh extend its reach and deliver the same high-quality IPTV services to subscribers of MTNL in Mumbai, India.

Orbit E-Commerce and PureNet.TV are pleased to announce the completion of a definitive joint venture partnership agreement bringing IPTV services to China. Previously, OECI announced the signing of an agreement with United Wireless to form a Joint Venture for the purpose of delivering IPTV products and services to United Wireless' 15 million subscribers in major cities across the Peoples Republic of China. During the course of their due diligence, management of both companies made the decision that a Joint Venture Partnership with HangZhou ZhengYuan Software Technology, the major shareholder and an affiliated company of United Wireless, would be in the best interest of the parties.

Orca Interactive announces plans to expand into the Asia Pacific market. As part of this strategic expansion, Orca will initiate business development activities across the region during the third quarter of 2008, which will be supported by Viaccess’ existing presence. Setting off the current move, Orca’s Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Ofer Weintraub, will speak about the latest developments in IPTV, including Web 2.0 services and IPTV convergence, at the CommunicAsia conference, taking place between June 17-20, 2008 in Singapore.

Digisoft.tv announces that Win Multimedia of Thailand has selected Digisoft’s DigiHost Service Delivery Platform and IPTV set top box middleware to deliver premium IPTV services in the Thai and Chinese markets. WM plans to launch their IPTV service across 10,000 retail outlets in Thailand and China over the next year and will include advanced applications including IPG, Video on demand, mobile phone tracking, News and weather services and karaoke in addition to multi language support.

WM, a subsidiary of Win Win Net Corporation in Thailand, is a vertically integrated media company operating in the film and record entertainment, sports events production, licensing, and distribution industries. WM is operating in Thailand and also will expand to The Peoples Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and India.

KyLinTV announces the most recent channel to join its extensive list of 41 live channels. Hwazan TV is now available on KyLinTV offering the beliefs of Buddhism to its international audience. Hwazan TV is a Chinese-language Buddhist channel from Taiwan aimed at spreading the teachings of Buddha to the rest of the world. Audiences are able to see Hwazan TV 24 hours a day.

Hwazan TV originated in January 2003, offering a platform for Ven. Master Chin-Kung to preach Buddhist dharma. Utilizing IPTV technology allows the teachings to reach a broader audience throughout the world.