IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is the secure delivery of multichannel television, movies-on-demand and related interactive content over a dedicated QoS-enabled network to a managed consumer electronics device; usually to a set-top box in a Pay TV service environment.  

Increasingly, the term “IPTV” is also being used to refer to the delivery of a TV experience to devices other than the TV set-top - including PCs and laptop computers, tablets and smartphones - over fixed-line access, via a mobile phone service or wirelessly.

The two-way nature of IPTV, coupled with the consumer's familiarity with the on-demand nature of the Internet, has converted television from a passive "push-oriented" service into a "pull-oriented" service that places the consumer in control as never before. In fact, IPTV is emblematic of a fundamental shift in the subscriber-service provider-marketer dynamic.

Satellite operators, meanwhile, are leveraging broadband Internet connections to deliver on-demand content and whole-home DVR.

This ongoing progress by cable and satellite has pressured the Telcos to further differentiate themselves by surrounding their IPTV services with Internet-delivered content and social media and by distributing features and content across multiple devices, under a common framework.

Google has weighed in with its own take on IPTV, in which pay TV is an ingredient within a broader TV-Internet experience, to bring a combination of pay TV, locally-stored, and Internet-delivered content to the TV screen by using the familiar search metaphor.

IPTV will continue to evolve in exciting directions - stay tuned.

It is important to draw a distinction between IPTV, which is delivered via a closed digital broadband network, and Internet TV, which is delivered on a best-effort basis; either via the open Internet to a computer or through a Web-on-TV portal.

Because IPTV is delivered using Internet Protocol, digital media content originally designed for the World Wide Web can be re-purposed and re-used in an IPTV context, enriching the basic TV experience.

For years now, Telcos and Internet Service Providers have been deploying IPTV services to slow the loss of their traditional voice and data subscribers to cable TV providers. 

Now, cable operators are leveraging IP connectivity to enable two-way features using standards like tru2way, SelecTV and interactive advertising via their work in Canoe Ventures.