The current TV broadcasting landscape, at an European and global level, is undergoing two important changes. First, the development of multi-channel digital television and of specialised offerings with both free and premium content. Second, the growth of a new broadcasting environment with media distributed both over the internet and next-generation mobile handsets, along with other emerging platforms and technologies.

Industry analyst Datamonitor expects the global television broadcast market to experience a significant growth, from $284.1 billion in 2007 to $326.2 billion by 2010.

In 2007, broadcast revenues in the US totalled $132.4 billion, and in Europe $72.8 billion. In each case, the bulk of revenues comes from advertising: US, 58%; Europe, 43%.

Together, the US and Europe accounted for $205.2 billion in TV revenue - more than 70% of the worldwide total, according to Datamonitor's figures.

By 2010, some 193.5 million households in the US and Western Europe will be connected to a digital television service. It is expected that Europe will overtake the US with regard to penetration of digital TV by the end of 2010. By that date, almost 69% of European households will have switched to digital services. Much of the growth across Europe will be driven by continuing adoption of digital terrestrial services, although IPTV will also begin to make an impact, Datamonitor said.

The UK will remain the country with the highest adoption of digital TV market by the end of 2010, with almost 95% of households receiving digital services.

Over 50 million US households will be watching high-definition programmes by the end of 2010, compared to less than 10% of European households, Datamonitor predicts. The UK will be the most developed European HD market by the end of the decade, although penetration rates will remain far lower than in the States.

New Challenges

The changing sector of communications and entertainment is creating a challenging new environment for traditional broadcasters. In order to remain competitive, digital TV providers will need to use effective technological solutions to cater for multi-platform distribution and value-added services.

Consumers are getting used to accessing video content through new media. On-demand entertainment is probably the most revolutionary trend for both online content and digital television consumption, creating new opportunities and challenges to the sector.

"From personal media players to TV sets, to mobile phones, people will access media content on a variety of different devices over a multitude of communications networks. As such, broadcasters are faced with strong pressure to adapt to multi-platform entertainment provision,"claims Chris Khouri, Datamonitor Media and Broadcasting analyst and author of the report "2008 Trends to Watch: Media and broadcasting technology".

As consumption habits mutate and consumers use multi-platform channels, traditional revenue generation is loosing its effectiveness to bring returns. Addressable advertising allows broadcasters to tailor relevant information to specific user-demographics, thereby maximising its potential effectiveness. This model can certainly allow broadcasters to boost their advertising premium rates due to an increase in return on investment.