Internet Protocol television

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Internet Protocol television (IPTV), also called TV over broadband,^[1][2] is the service delivery of television over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Usually sold and run by a telecom provider, it consists of broadcast live television that is streamed over the Internet (multicast) — in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable transmission formats — as well as video on demand services for watching or replaying content (unicast).^[3]

IPTV broadcasts started gaining usage during the 2000s alongside the rising use of broadband-based internet connections.^[2] It is often provided bundled with internet access services by ISPs to subscribers and runs in a closed network.^[4] IPTV normally requires the use of a set-top box, which receives the encoded television content in the MPEG transport stream via IP multicast, and converts the packets to be watched on a TV set or other kind of display.^[3] It is distinct from over-the-top (OTT) services, which are based on a direct one-to-one transmission mechanism.

IPTV methods have been standardised by organisations such as ETSI.^[5][6] IPTV has found success in some regions: for example in Western Europe in 2015, pay IPTV users overtook pay satellite TV users.^[7] IPTV is also used for media delivery around corporate and private networks.^{[citation needed]}