Interactive and streamed internet television services are set to take off on a large scale this year, one expert has claimed.

According to the 2008 Digital Entertainment Survey by Entertainment Media Research, less than one in five people have so far watched streamed TV programmes through the internet.

However, Barak Bar-Cohen, president and chief operations officer of Narrowstep, is confident that this is soon to change.

"It's really broadband penetration that is driving TV over the internet and streaming adoption," he explained, arguing that Europe is well ahead of the USA in this respect.

Mr Bar-Cohen went on: "A lot of the research is coming out of the US right now, there [is talk in the media about] long-form content and the monetisation of that and the quality and how its it's really starting to take hold and re-shaping the way people consume content and media."

The convergence of technologies offers seemingly limitless possibilities for developers and consumers alike, ranging from real-time video conferencing to TV on demand.


© Adfero Ltd