Has IPTV hit the tipping point?

Microsoft’s announcement today of new ecosystem partners for its Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV system is intended to underscore the faster pace at which IPTV is being rolled out globally. And in fact there has been steady expansion of this service, especially in Europe and Asia.

In this regard, the rest of the globe is moving ahead of the U.S., where despite AT&T’s steady if not spectacular progress, adding markets and signing up customers, IPTV skeptics are easier to find than its proponents.

Qwest executives have repeatedly said they think the technology is too immature for deployment and some early IPTV pioneers are saying the same thing.

There is good reason to think that features now being deployed can change that. The DVR Anywhere feature Microsoft if rolling out allows recording and/or playback of up to four programs simultaneously, with all recorded material available on any TV set within the home, even viewable on multiple sets. That’s the kind of highly differentiated feature that sells a service.

Microsoft’s aggressive push to get third-party software developers engaged with IPTV is also paying off. The tighter links between Web content and IPTV have already enabled a number of interesting applications and more are promised.

Christine Heckart, general manager of marketing for Microsoft TV, sees the expansion of the ecosystem of partners for Microsoft Mediaroom as a market recognition of the technology’s viability.

“Five years ago, it was difficult to get companies to take our calls because they didn’t see IPTV as a real business,” Heckart said. ”Now world class companies are lining up.”

Microsoft is not the only company delivering IPTV, but its presence in the market and its determined focus has had an impact across this market that can’t be denied. If, as Heckart and company say, IPTV has finally hit a market tipping point, some credit is overdue.