Like all television networks, niche content providers such as ethnic and religious broadcasters want to reach as many viewers as possible. For years they have lobbied cable operators for carriage on cable distribution systems. While cable operators have become more aware of the need and financial benefits of broadcasting niche content, the reality is that there is not a sufficient population in most operators' geographic markets to justify the expense of launching niche networks. There are exceptions

not become significant until they had a significant viewer base? Then even small content providers could afford to reach their target audience.

The solution is of course Over-the-Top IPTV (OTT). OTT is similar in operation to Telco IPTV multicast systems except that rather than using their own local infrastructure to transport the content, OTT systems contract third party distribution networks (Internap Network Services, Limelight Networks, Akamai) to transport the content

of course (Hispanic networks, premium services, the occasional golf channel) but for hundreds of other cultures and enthusiasts, their particular style of programming will not be available to them on cable systems.

Until recently the best option for niche broadcasters to reach their audience seemed to be Direct to Home (DTH) satellite systems. All you needed was cash and content and you could be on the air. The problem however was that you needed a lot of cash. DTH is very expensive

for ultimate delivery to viewers via the public Internet. Granted, this capability has been around for a number of years and early adopters such as Jump TV have been broadcasting on OTT systems for some time, but a few recent developments have made the model more credible.

For starters, broadband Internet speeds are far more available than they were a few years ago; especially in the US. An April 2009 survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project

and both the signal and the associated cost needs to be replicated in each geographic footprint. Granted it is a large footprint, but if you want to broadcast around the world, you must incur the broadcast expense multiple times. DTH is also inconvenient for the viewer. Installing a home dish is often problematic or even impossible for some viewers. These realities have left niche broadcasters with the daunting problem of how to distribute their content to their target audiences economically.

If only niche broadcasters had a broadcast platform that could deliver content most anywhere in the world. Wouldn't it be great if they didn't need a high concentration of viewers in a particular geographic location in order to justify the expense of a launch? Rather, they could rely on a sprinkling of people in many locations rather than a large number of people in a single location. Better yet, what if the cost of the distribution was low when they had only a small number of viewers and did

shows 63% of adult Americans now have broadband Internet connections at home; up from 30% in 2005. Today download speeds of 1.5Mbps are common and provide sufficient bandwidth to deliver a near broadcast quality signal. This provides viewers the quality they are accustomed to for viewing on mid to small television monitors.

It isn't very sexy, but a big evolution has been cost. It is simply much more affordable to build and operate an OTT IPTV system than it ever has been before. Encoder companies such as Visionary Solutions have developed very capable, reliable and extremely affordable encoder solutions. Middleware companies have tempered their dreams of multimillion dollar systems and now offer turnkey content gateways for less than six figures. PeerTV offers multicast and unicast ready set top boxes with up to 1080P decoding and an abundance of video and audio protocols for well under $200. This abundance of

high quality software and hardware at rates that can be afforded by even the smallest of broadcasters has made OTT IPTV a viable distribution option.

Broadcasters that want to keep their investment to a minimum have the option to simply add their programming to an existing IPTV platform. PathFinder Digital offers their "Broadband TV Shared Services" solution that provides broadcasters the option to launch a channel for under $4,000 of upfront cost; inclusive of the encoder and shared content gateway. PathFinder Digital will then operate the system, provide customer support and perform all the logistics necessary to distribute set top boxes to viewers for a flat monthly fee of $1,500 for the first channel and as low as $500 for additional channels. The network is only responsible for selling set top boxes to their viewers and for the cost of the delivery network which of course varies with the number of set top boxes in the field. Firms such as NeuLion and TVU Networks offer similar services where they operate the system for a fee on behalf of the network.

Another evolution for broadcasters is the integration of television sets with IPTV platforms pre-equipped with STB functionality. AnySource Media (recently acquired by DivX) and Global Digital Broadcast are developing hardware and

software to be installed in television sets by manufacturers that allow viewers to identify, select and access content from virtually anywhere. The chip provides the viewer a program guide to aid in the selection of the content and then "requests" the program file from the content owner. The file is then streamed from the content owner's server directly to the television set for viewing. The beauty of these systems is that they can accept a wide variety of audio and video protocols so most content owners will be able to participate. And because the content is delivered over the Internet, it can come from anywhere. A big challenge for this solution is obtaining the agreement of television set manufacturers to include the technology in their products. If a solution is adopted, it will provide all television viewers a built-in option to obtain niche content from anywhere.

Networks of any size now have access to affordable OTT IPTV solutions which enable them to distribute their content to their target audiences via the Internet. Whether they install and operate their own OTT IPTV service, lease access on a shared system, or simply make content files available for streaming, a solution is near. And because these systems are scalable, they can grow their solution as their viewer base increases. If you are a niche broadcaster, you have to consider Broadband TV.