Killer Apps for IPTV & the Future of IPTV Apps
IPTV is at the forefront for many top consumer tech companies. At the CES show in January, Samsung announced the launch of Samsung Apps, a multi-device application store which would make apps available for a range of devices, including HDTV’s. As part of their announcement, Samsung named several content partners which were already on-board, including Blockbuster, USA Today and others. Yahoo is also one of the big players in the web TV app space with their TV widgets (http://connectedtv.yahoo.com/services/tv-widgets). Yahoo has apps like YouTube, Amazon Video on Demand, Blockbuster, Twitter and TV Guide.
So, just what will be the killer apps for IPTV? I will explore some obvious, and not so obvious, killer apps for IPTV.
The IPTV Apps Already Being Consumed By Early Adopters
Content Discovery Apps for Long Tail Video & Professionally Produced Movies/TV: YouTube and start-up Clicker will compete with each other to be the TV guide of the future. For movies, Netflix and Blockbuster are already providing on demand solutions for their customers. To be the killer app, these video services need to understand who is in the living room. If I am looking for content for just myself, I am likely to tune into business news or a historical documentary, if my wife, daughter and I are all sitting in the room, we are likely to watch American Idol as we all have at least some level of interest in it.
Content Discovery Apps for Music: Many televisions are already coming pre-loaded with Pandora. Whether you have friends over, or are simply looking for background music while you are doing something else, services like Pandora and Slacker provide a nice alternative to the radio or a personal music collection.
News/Weather: USA Today and AccuWeather.com were named as content partners for the Samsung App. The key question in my mind is, “what content will these companies showcase in the form of an app that will be more useful than simply tuning into a news or weather cable station?”
On-Screen Caller ID: Definitely not the killer app, but having caller id on your television is a nice utility to have.
Photo Viewing: Flicker and Picasa are already available for IPTV purposes. Browsing through photos on a giant high def television with your friends and family makes a lot more sense than crowding around a small desktop monitor.
The Future IPTV Apps That May be the True Killer Apps
Apps that Interact with Shows Themselves: These will likely take many forms. Let’s consider several examples:
- You are watching Vikings versus Packers and the widget shows you the box score on the side or does polls like “should they go for it.”
- You could use Twitter or Facebook to see the crowd’s comments or your friend’s comments that are relevant to the program you are watching.
- You are watching a movie and a movie widget allows you to see information about the movie such as actors, directors, year released, reviews, etc.
- You are watching a show like American Idol and are able to cast your vote through your TV instead of calling in.
Social Media- Twitter was announced as a part of the Samsung CES press release. I would expect top existing social media players like Twitter and Facebook to emerge with top apps for IPTV. Wouldn’t it be cool to see your Twitter stream on a giant HDTV television or flip through your friend’s Facebook photos easily on your big screen?
Games- Today, consumers who want to play games on their televisions rely on consoles. Will they tomorrow? One scrappy start-up named OnLive is betting that you’ll play games directly through an internet connection.
Family Calendars- Right now, it is common to still find a family calendar hanging on a refrigerator with various important dates scribbled on it. Why not turn tomorrow’s living room into a central calendar for the family, and sync up everyone’s calendars together using IPTV? The utility of a Windows app like Cozi would make for a nice background on an HDTV.
Video Call- How cool would it be to be to chat with loved ones on a giant screen, as if they are sitting in your living room? I expect existing video call players like Skype, ooVoo, and Logitech to compete to provide you with this type of functionality. Take video calling one step further, and imagine the use of 3D television capabilities to do video calling.
Now that we have the IPTV killer apps out of the way, how are you likely to gain access to them? This will be an important question for app marketers, as it will change the way they think about distribution. There is a heavyweight fight going between where the widgets/downloads will be placed:
- On your TV
- On a box like Roku or Boxee.tv
- On your video game machine like Xbox 360 or PS3
- On other devices like a Blue Ray player
- On a laptop with wired or wireless connection to your TV
If you disagree with my ideas for killer apps for IPTV, have a fantasy IPTV app of your own, or care to provide any other commentary on IPTV app trends, please share your perspective by adding a comment to this blog.
Rob Weber, Vice President of Business Development and Co-Founder, W3i, LLC
Rob is an Internet marketing pioneer with over ten, profitable years evolving W3i in the consumer application industry.




