Determinants of IPTV diffusion

•This study found broadband platform competition is effective in promoting IPTV diffusion.•This study showed pay TV market size contributes to IPTV adoption.•This study found urban population is an influential factor for explaining IPTV diffusion.

Continuous innovations in the telecommunications industry marked by media and technological convergence enable consumers to access television and video content through various fixed and mobile broadband networks and devices. As evidence of this trend, the diffusion of new interactive, converged video services like Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) shows a rapid growth in many countries. In spite of a growing body of scholarship on IPTV diffusion, there is currently no empirical work that examines IPTV diffusion at the macro-level. This study fills this void in the literature by examining the macro-level factors influencing IPTV diffusion through regression analysis. Data analysis suggests inter-modal competition between different broadband technologies is more effective than intra-modal competition (local loop unbundling policy) in promoting IPTV diffusion. Results also indicate that pay TV market size contributes to IPTV diffusion. It appears that, in many countries, IPTV is more likely to be deployed as the market size of pay TV services increases. In addition, data analysis demonstrates urban population is a statistically significant indicator for explaining IPTV diffusion.