Meanwhile, Google-owned YouTube is venturing further into the broadcasting space. In mid-September, the site launched a two-week trial of a live-streaming video platform featuring content from Howcast, Next New Networks, Rocketboom and Young Hollywood. YouTube has featured live streaming in the past for specific events such as Indian Premier League cricket matches and a U2 concert, but the latest trial is intended to evaluate a future global rollout of the platform.
Then there's Apple, which launched Apple TV 2.0 in September, with a smaller form factor and an even smaller price tag of $99. Apple also announced the availability of TV shows for rental via iTunes for $0.99 a pop, sparking a price war with Amazon.com, which cut prices for online TV show rentals to $0.99 hours later.
Apple has been aiming for the living room with Apple TV for several years now, but interestingly, some industry observers have said Apple's real living-room coup isn't a cheaper Apple TV device and cheap TV shows on iTunes, but its other announcement the same day - AirPlay.
Adrian Drury, Ovum's lead media, broadcast and telecoms analyst, describes Apple's proprietary WLAN media streaming application as "a major feature of the coming operating system updates for its iDevices" that will allow users to stream music, photos and video content from an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch direct to the TV set.
"This turns the TV screen into a companion accessory to socially share content from devices that are otherwise highly personal," Drury said in a research note. "Rather than place another computer underneath the TV, Apple is seeking to leverage the computing power, network effect, and potentially, the App Store distribution channel of its 120 million iDevices."
If it works, Drury says, Apple could chase the same mainstream broadcast market that Google is targeting.
That doesn't necessarily spell trouble for existing pay-TV and evolving free-to-air broadcast players, says Drury, "but it would be unwise for any of Apple's competitors to dismiss the iDevice network effect."
Apple will also see plenty of competition in the consumer electronics side of the equation, says Jordan Selburn, principal analyst for consumer platforms at iSuppli. He points to a slew of internet-enabled living room devices coming into the market, from Blu-ray players, Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation to standalone media players from companies like Roku, Vudu, and the upcoming Boxee Box from D-Link Corp.
iSuppli forecasts that shipments of internet-enabled living-room devices will amount to more than 430 million units in 2014, up from 99.3 million in 2009, at a CAGR of 34.1% (a faster growth rate than smartphones for that period). Sales of internet-enabled TVs will climb to 27.7 million units globally this year, compared to 12.3 million in 2009, iSuppli adds. So if nothing else, the CPE for over-the-top video is already primed to invade living rooms in the next five years.