Parks Associates: Multiscreen services to flourish as 145 million people in Western Europe regularly watch online video

- Pay-TV offerings a key focus at CONNECTIONS™ Europe, Nov 13-14 in Amsterdam

DALLAS, Oct. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Parks Associates reports the number of consumers in Western Europe who regularly watch online video will reach 145 million this year and the number of pay-TV operators offering multiscreen TV services will increase from approximately 50 in 2012 to 90 by 2016. The international research firm will present new research on European pay-TV subscribers, with comparisons to the U.S. and international markets, at CONNECTIONS™ Europe, November 13-14 in Amsterdam.

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CONNECTIONS™ Europe, featuring speakers from Amdocs, Irdeto, Sky Deutschland, and more,  addresses the new offerings from service and content providers and presents recommendations on emerging business models for advanced advertising and OTT and pay-TV services.  Media are invited to attend.

"Rapid growth of connected CE devices in the home, concerns over cord cutting, moves to adopt multiscreen by competitors, and the emergence of TV Everywhere services in North America initially drove implementation of multiscreen services in Europe," said Brett Sappington, director, research, Parks Associates. "These services allow pay-TV providers to compete with terrestrial broadcasters for online video viewers and potentially to drive subscribers to premium services. The cord-cutting phenomenon was not as apparent in Europe as it was in North America but only because pay-TV providers were already grappling with the challenge of moving subscribers to premium service tiers."

In Europe, content provider HBO Nordic is testing new offerings to provide OTT services to consumers without a subscription to cable services, raising fears that viewers will use these services to bypass pay-TV offerings.  However, a new study from Parks Associates finds 7% of U.S. pay-TV subscribers recently returned to pay-TV service after having "cut the cord,"  casting doubt on the long-term impact of subscribers who cancel their pay-TV service because of Internet video. 

CONNECTIONS™ Europe Sponsors: Digitalsmiths; GreenPeak Technologies; myStrom AG, a subsidiary of Swisscom; PacketVideo; People Power Company; Sigma Designs; Sutherland Global Services; ESNA; iMediaShare; NewBay Software; MyHomeServices.

CONNECTIONS™ Europe agenda is available at http://www.parksassociates.com/connectionseurope. Visit http://www.connectionseurope.com or contact sales@parksassociates.com, 972-490-1113 for information.

About CONNECTIONS™ Europe
CONNECTIONS™ Europe offers high-level analysis and consumer research, networking opportunities, and information on emerging connected home services and technologies. The executive summit focuses on the next generation of services. www.connectionseurope.com

Holly Sprague
Parks Associates
+1-720-987-6614
hsprague@gmail.com