NBN and IPTV

The creation of the national broadband network will mean a great challenge for broadcasters as audiences gain the ability to access IPTV. David Braue looks at the environment they will have to embrace.

If Robbie Minicola has her way, the next generation of TV broadcasting won’t be broadcasting at all. Rather, consumers will be able to pick and choose whatever content they want to watch – in particular, current and past television episodes – and stream them right to their lounge rooms.

It’s hardly surprising that her vision revolves around on-demand video: she is CEO of Hybrid Television Services, the local distributor of the TiVo personal video recorders (PVRs) whose runaway popularity in the USA almost single-handedly created the crisis in which many broadcasters find themselves.