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March 3, 2009
The telecom market in Brazil is quite dynamic. Not long ago many people in the market — including me — were talking about how DTH seemed to have surpassed IPTV as the key service telcos were planning to launch to compete with cable pay-TV operators.
As we discussed in our recently published Communications Markets in Brazil, operators are not allowed to broadcast programming over IPTV, but are limited to video-on-demand (VoD) services. Also, the only available service to date is Brasil Telecom’s Videon, which hasn’t reached much commercial success since its inception in August 2007.
Quite unexpectedly, however, Telefónica on February 17 launched an IPTV service dubbed Xtreme, which runs on the operator’s fiber-to-the-home network. The company appears to have a far-reaching and robust strategy for pay-TV, working on as many ventures as possible before committing to the best one. Over the past few years Telefónica has acquired a minority stake in MMDS/cable operator TVA, partnered with DTH player DTHi and now launched IPTV over fiber. The company is positioned as the main challenger to NET Serviços, the leader in the pay-TV market.
We still believe, though, that as long as telcos are not allowed to offer broadcasting services, IPTV adoption will remain low in Brazil, especially because of the huge advantage NET has in content considering its exclusive Globosat channels. However, this recent move from Telefónica is noteworthy, and we will monitor how it evolves.
— Fernando Faria, Senior Analyst
Related Content:
Communications Markets in Brazil
Country Intelligence Report published February 2009
Total telecom revenue in Brazil in 2008 reached $55.8bn, up $7.4bn from 2007 fueled by mobile penetration jumping to 79%. Data services also made a significant contribution to growth. Both fixed and mobile voice revenue will decline, however. This Country Intelligence Report analyzes Brazil’s communications, media and technology industries, including key trends, regulatory pressures and the competitive landscape, making it an excellent complement to our Forecast products.
Satellite TV Offerings to Boost Competition for Multiplay Bundles in Brazil
Latin American Market Perspective published January 2009
Satellite TV is emerging as the video broadcasting technology of choice for Brazilian operators, since it has strong mass appeal among lower-income segments. Oi has recently announced plans to compete with cable and fixed operators with voice, data and video bundles aimed at promoting stickiness. This Perspective explores the adoption of mass-market strategies in Brazil that include reasonably priced video offerings in order to increase client bases.
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