Hewlett-Packard Leads in Interactive Television Market

Strategic Insights -

Hewlett-Packard Company has announced significant agreements with two major telecommunications companies, Hongkong Telecom and Deutsche Telekom, to develop interactive-television services in Hong Kong and Germany. These deals highlight the growing momentum in the international market for interactive-television services. The partnerships demonstrate HP's leadership in the video-server market, with its MediaStream Server transmitting nearly 70 percent of the multimedia streams into homes participating in interactive-television trials and deployments around the globe.

Key Takeaways:

  • HP has signed agreements with Hongkong Telecom and Deutsche Telekom to develop interactive-television services in Hong Kong and Germany, respectively.
  • Hongkong Telecom will deploy fully interactive-television services for its subscribers, while Deutsche Telekom will use HP technology to conduct a multiyear interactive-television trial.
  • HP's MediaStream Server will be used in both trials, providing a technological advantage for the company in the video-server market.
  • The agreements solidify HP's leadership as the supplier of the enabling technologies that will help make interactive television a reality.
  • HP's video-server technology is scalable and modular, allowing interactive-television providers to add capabilities to each server and connect servers in a network as consumer and business demand for interactive-television services grows.
  • The worldwide interactive-television market is expected to grow to $1 billion by 1997, with 1.3 million homes outside the United States and 1.8 million U.S. homes expected to have interactive-television services by 1996.

Statistics:

  • HP's MediaStream Server will transmit nearly 70 percent of the multimedia streams into homes participating in interactive-television trials and deployments around the globe.
  • The worldwide interactive-television market is expected to grow to $1 billion by 1997.
  • 1.3 million homes outside the United States and 1.8 million U.S. homes will have interactive-television services by 1996.

Sources:

  • Hewlett-Packard Company press release, November 29, 1995
  • Dataquest study, July 1995
  • SIMBA Information study, July 1995
  • HP Annual Report, 1995