The figures, published by the Strasbourg-based European Audiovisual Observatory, show that 142 pay services were operational in the 24 European countries examined at the end of 2006. But the current figure, which includes free-access services and those set up since the start of 2007, is now well over 150.
This is up from 40 at the end of 2005 and just 14 at the end of 2004.
The current market leader in the emerging European VOD sector is France, with 20 services, followed by the Netherlands (19), the U.K.
(13), Germany (12) and Belgium (10).
The lion's share of services, 94, are accessed through the Internet and viewed on a computer screen. But there is increasing demand -- with 47 services available -- for broadband transmission, usually as part of an offer for the distribution of television channels in the IPTV model, in which programs can be viewed on a television screen.
Digital recorders (PVRs) are able to store satellite and digital terrestrial programs, but these services are still limited, with only seven such services available in Europe.
News RSS