Following the success of last year’s show, the IPTV Zone at IBC2008 is being increased in size by 15.5% to more than 1100m². The expansion reflects the growth of the IPTV market which is forecast to grow to reach 63 million subscribers by 2010 (an annual growth rate of 92% from 2.4 million in 2005) creating a $27 billion marketplace according to a recent report by iSuppli.

The IBC2008 IPTV Zone will bring together many of the organisations and technologies that are emerging as major forces in these new markets. It will therefore provide a unique opportunity for application developers, content providers and technology companies to showcase their capabilities at the heart of the broadcast industry's leading international conference and exhibition.

Although video-on-demand has enjoyed only limited consumer success since its introduction around the turn of this century, improving techniques for the insertion of targeted advertising, combined with a viewer population more accustomed to acquiring media content online, suggest that VOD’s time may be approaching.

The key factor, according to ABI Research analyst Paulhwa Lee, is “monetization”: service providers continue to seek the grail of higher profitability from each title accessed. And that grail increasingly appears to be found in the bundling of customized, tightly targeted advertising with the program content.

Concurrent announces that Cox Communications has completed a Master Purchase Agreement to deploy MediaHawk 4500 VOD servers across Cox’s entire VOD-enabled subscriber base. The multi-year agreement will enable Cox to standardize on the Concurrent MediaHawk Content Delivery System across all Cox markets, with Concurrent’s MediaHawk 4500 replacing other server brands and integrating with SeaChange’s AXIOM back office. Every Cox system will upgrade during this time, adding additional streams and increased content storage. Additionally, as part of the agreement, Cox has been granted a license to Concurrent’s targeted advertising patent portfolio.

MLB Advanced Media selects to use Inlet’s Spinnaker solution to produce broadcast-quality streaming video for MLB.TV’s live out-of-market game broadcasts during the 2008 baseball season.

Inlet’s Spinnaker provides live encoding solutions that enable content providers to reach new audiences over new networks. Spinnaker delivers best-in-class quality for live media delivery applications such as sports programming over the Internet, IPTV, web streaming, PEG, broadband TV, enterprise, education or government video.

AT&T U-verse IPTV customers can now enjoy even more HD channels as part of their extensive HD lineup. AT&T and HBO announced the addition of three HBO HD channels to the U-verse IPTV channel lineup, including HBO2 HD, HBO Comedy HD and HBO Family HD.

With these additions, U-verse IPTV customers who subscribe to the HD service option have access to a lineup of more than 40 HD channels. Customers receive HBO channels with a U400 subscription or the addition of an HBO or Movie Package.

HD service is available for $10 a month with any U-verse IPTV programming package. All U-verse IPTV packages include HD-ready equipment, and most include an HD-capable DVR.