Parameters for Business Models

In May 2007, the European Audiovisual Observatory and the Direction du développement des médias
of the French government published a report on the development of VoD in Europe. The scope of the
report is limited to services providing content chosen by the providers of services and excludes services
providing User Generated Content.2 At the end of 2006, 142 pay services (excluding services devoted
exclusively to music and services comprising solely programmes for adults) were operational in the 24
countries studied. If one adds to this the number of free access services, those which were set up at
the beginning of 2007, and those which exist in countries not covered by the study, the number of
services currently operational in Europe may reach more than 150. France, the Netherlands and the
United Kingdom stand out as leaders in terms of the number of services on offer. Most of the services
in Europe (94) can be accessed via the Internet and can therefore be viewed on a computer screen.
Transmission using the broadband network, usually as part of an offer for the distribution of television
channels in IPTV mode, constitutes the second most frequently used mode of distribution (47 services).
In this case the programmes can be viewed on a television screen. As digital broadcasting by satellite
and by terrestrial network does not permit a return path, offers of video-on-demand are possible by
storing the programmes on the user’s digital recorder (PVR). The number of services of this type is still
limited in Europe, but they are offered by two of the main digital television content aggregators
(BSkyB’s Sky Anytime service in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and Premiere’s Direkt Premiere + in
Germany and Austria).