News Broadcasting
Asia-Pacific leads IPTV growth: In-Sat research
MUMBAI: The Asia/Pacific region is leading the global revolution of IPTV in infrastructure deployments, applications development and subscriber adoption, reports global research firm In-Stat. The study reveals that the region’s broadband penetration and regulatory support help to foster the fastest-growing IPTV market in the world.
“With IPTV, incumbent telcos have the opportunity to fundamentally change their broadband customers’ video service experience from the traditional video clip streaming and downloading model,” says In-Stat analyst Bryan Wang. “IPTV is expected to be the real killer application in the telcos’ broadband services portfolio that will increase ARPU and preserve user stickiness.”
A recent report by In-Stat found the following:
— By 2011, the Asia/Pacific market is expected to reach 39 million IPTV subscribers.
— Total IPTV revenue in the region will reach US$8.1 billion by 2011.
— Providers will need to find a unique approach to packaging and bundling in order to attract customers and maintain a competitive edge. As a result, most IPTV service providers have strategically integrated services in their triple-play bundled offerings.
The research, “Asia/Pacific IPTV Market: Hype and Hope?”, covers the market for IPTV in the Asia/Pacific region. It contains forecasts for IPTV subscribers for the region and by major national markets, along with revenue for the region through 2011. It includes analysis of market drivers, challenges, and the regulatory environment. Also included is a look at specific conditions in major regional markets including China, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, states an official release.
News Broadcasting
Senior media executive Madhu Soman exits Zee Media
Former Reuters and Bloomberg leader says he leaves with “no regrets” after brief stint at WION and Zee Business
NOIDA: Madhu Soman, a veteran of global newsrooms and media sales floors, has stepped away from Zee Media Corporation after a short stint steering business strategy for WION and Zee Business.
In a reflective LinkedIn note marking his departure, Soman said his time within the network’s corridors was always likely to be brief. “Some chapters close faster than expected,” he wrote, signalling the end of a nearly two-year spell in which he oversaw both editorial partnerships and commercial strategy.
Soman joined Zee Media in 2022 after more than a decade abroad with Reuters and Bloomberg, returning to India to take on the role of chief business officer for WION and Zee Business. His mandate was ambitious: bridge the newsroom and the revenue desk while expanding digital and broadcast reach.
During the stint, Zee Business reached break-even for the first time since its launch in 2005, while WION refreshed programming and strengthened its digital footprint across platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
But Soman suggested the cultural fit proved uneasy. Describing himself as a “cultural misfit”, he hinted at deeper tensions between editorial instincts shaped in global newsrooms and the realities of India’s television news ecosystem.
Before joining Zee, Soman spent more than seven years at Bloomberg in Hong Kong as head of broadcast sales for Asia-Pacific, expanding the company’s news syndication business across several markets. Earlier, he held senior editorial roles at Reuters, overseeing online strategy in India and managing Reuters Video Services from London.
His career began in television and wire reporting, including a stint with ANI during the 1999 Kargil conflict, before moving into digital publishing as India’s internet media landscape took shape.
Now, after nearly three decades in broadcast and digital media, Soman is leaving Delhi NCR and returning to his hometown, Trivandrum.
Exhausted, he admits. But unbowed. And with one quiet line that sums up the journey: he didn’t sell his soul — because some things, after all, are not for sale.
