Telecom Italia with a Hybrid OTT Set-top Box

Interesting news from Telecom Italia that they are going to deploy a hybrid set-top box (reported to be an Intel-based box supplied by Amino) that will receive broadcast DTT channels and online video.

With all of the hand-wringing going on about cord-cutting here in the U.S., I think the threat is far more serious in Europe, where free DTT service is already a barrier to growth for both IPTV and cable operators. We've heard from European operators that the hybrid set-top box supporting broadband-enabled VoD services will be a critical service in allowing them to keep at least a broadband connection in a home that doesn't desire a pay-TV subscription.

And, with Intel as part of the Telecom Italia mix, it looks like consumer electronics players may be able to take advantage of opportunities to provide service providers with a means to provide unique services to their customers. Could television manufacturers be allies for the operators? Perhaps, if we see more partnerships such as the one announced at CES between LG Electronics and France Telecom/Orange. I tend to think that the majority of hybrid deployments will involve lower-cost set-top boxes, but there's no reason to think that connected TVs, Blu-ray players, and other Web-enabled CE devices won't be able to take advantage of the VoD services being supplied over broadband connections by the service providers.

Rumbling of Mergers in Europe

Amidst the talk and challenges of a merger between France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom wireless operations in the U.K. comes the news of a possible tie up between Telecom Italia and Telefonica. Setting aside the political implications, this recent news seems to be another step in the courtship between the two behemoths. Telefonica recently completed the acquisition of HanseNet in Germany. Prior to the acquisition, HanseNet was a part of Telecom Italia's operations in Germany. It will be interesting to follow which portions of Telecom Italia's operations will be up for a merger if one were to actually happen. Coming to the political implications stated earlier, the news publication La Repubblica claims that the Berlusconi family bought into Telefonica late last year. That involves Mediaset now? This is turning out to be quite interesting.

Nagravision and Samsung Internet@TV Partnership

This was interesting news, particularly since we completed a Webcast today where we talked about the very dymanic market for supplying Web capabilities to the consumer electronics market. Today, Nagravision announced that it was partnering with Samsung Electronics America to provide TV applications an interactivity to Web-connected Samsung products such as connected TVs and Blu-ray players.

It's interesting that a company like Nagravision - which has a strong foundation in providing content protection, delivery, and interactive features to pay-TV providers is working with consumer electronics companies. At a time in which we are seeing different actors - including broadband service providers such as France Telecom; online video providers such as Roxio CinemaNow; and broadcasters (particularly in Europe with the Project Canvas and HbbTV efforts - all developing solutions to bring more content and services to the connected TV, Nagravision's announcement should be one of many that we hear in this developing space.