Internet television (Internet TV or iTV) is television distributed through the Internet. Internet television allows viewers to choose the show they want to watch from a library of shows. The primary models for Internet television are streaming Internet TV or selectable video on an Internet location, typically a website. The video can also be broadcast with a peer-to-peer network(P2PTV),which doesn't rely on single website's streaming.

It differs from IPTV in that IPTV offerings are typically offered on discrete service provider networks,requiring a special IPTV set-top-box.

Internet TV is a quick-to-market and relatively low investment service. Internet TV rides on existing infrastructure including broadband, ADSL, Wi-Fi, cable and satellite which makes it a valuable tool for a wide variety of service providers and content owners looking for new revenue streams.

Implementation

Many programmers are streaming their content live on the internet today to increase viewership (which in turn increases ad revenue) and protect market share. This model is efficient due to the relatively inexpensive multicasting protocol. Viewers may simply request access to the live feed and join into the live stream. This free model has been used in over-the-air broadcasting for years and still works because of the low cost of reaching viewers via multicast. Any viewer with a broadband connection and the correct free media player can watch live television from around the world.

Many internet television "portals" are available which include links to live feeds as well as built-in viewers. Although the live television streams are free, most portals are supported by advertising revenue as well.

Those that create valued and interesting video products now have the opportunity to distribute them directly to a large audience - something impossible with the previous television distributing models (closed software, closed hardware, closed network). The free model has been used around the globe by local and independent television channels aiming for niche target audiences, or to build a collaborative environment for media production, a platform for citizens' media. It isn't strictly a citizen's format either as the broadcast model used in television for decades will begin to find competition in Internet television supported by advertising.

Business Considerations for Internet TV

The recent rapid growth of fast broadband access, accelerated computer power and larger storage capacity has turned Internet TV into a real opportunity for service providers who want to open new revenue streams and increase ARPU.

A major advantage of Internet TV is that it allows content delivery to a huge population with virtually no geographical limitations. But while Internet TV is a much easier and cheaper way of publishing content, operators who are pondering whether to launch an Internet TV service nevertheless have to carefully assess the factors affecting their business cases.