UK provides IPTV model for targeting the elderly

Forget Generation Y. It’s Grandma and Grandpa that are driving the next generation of TV technology.

One of IPTV’s greatest promises comes from its ability to target specific niches with personalized, interactive content. With more than 78 million baby boomers in the United States looking toward retirement, this generation and their elderly parents is a prime candidate. While little has been done in the US to fill this need, a service in the UK city of Hull is showing that the elderly present an opportunity that shouldn’t be ignored.

Launched earlier this month, Broadband Capital’s Stream IPTV service is aimed at enabling independent living and preventing future health issues for those ages 55 and up. Through a range of TV-centric services, including local information, email, low-impact exercise programs, crime prevention advice and user-generated programming, UK citizens are empowered to live in their own homes rather than seek residential care. Funded by the Hull City Council, the service is already available to approximately 100 homes in the city with plans to expand to 250 by March 2009 and to between 1,000 and 5,000 in the next 12 months.

Hull has a long history with IPTV. It is part of the 2% of the UK that is not served by British Telecom and was one of the first to do a commercial deployment of IPTV in 1998. At the time, it primarily served as an entertainment platform focused on delivering broadcast television. That ran up until 2004, when Mark Jones, managing director of Broadband Capital, joined the company and began to concentrate on using the same technology to serve the public sector. Projects around learning and local business support were launched, but a particular opportunity was observed around the area of health services.

“If we can provide an older person with information at their fingertips 24 hours a day, seven days a week, that would mean they might not need as many face-to-face visits,” Jones said. “But someone who does need a visit from a nurse or community matron, they might be able to get more. It’s being able to prioritize that workload, and that is what IPTV really enables you to do.”