According to a report issued by Nielsen, the number of U.S. households that dont have cable or satellite TV and subscribe only to broadband Internet access has grown dramatically, growing by 22.8% over the past year. The Nielsen report said that this demographic is growing faster than any other segment of the “cross-platform” television marketplace.

According to Samsung Gulf Electronics, the United Arab Emirates is leading the way in smart TV sales, with a 40% share of web-enabled television sales in the Gulf region. The Gulf has accounted for 7% of the global sales of smart TV sets, according to the Korean manufacturer.

New research by In-Stat reveals despite TV apps are not the reason for consumers purchasing connected TVs, over 60% of connected households will use a TV app at least once weekly. The Q2'11 US Digital Entertainment Database report indicates advent smart TV consumers are rapidly adopting online TV applications that are integrated into their connected TVs.

The Oman Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) will provide those selected with free high speed broadband internet connection, and related data rich services such as internet protocol television (IPTV) or over the top TV. This decision is based on a home pilot project that has been approved by the Oman Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.

According to a report by market research firm, companiesandmarkets.com, the global online movie market is forecast to reach $4.44bn by the year 2017, mainly driven by continued penetration of broadband, rising spend on digital rentals, and uptake of advanced 3D.

Rapid TV News reports that the number of global broadband lines passed the 500 million mark in July 2010, according to Broadband Forum, highlighting research by industry analysts Point Topic, who also revealed strong growth for IPTV in the second quarter of 2010, with 2.3 million subscribers added in that time period, adding up to a total IPTV universe of 38.5 million users. The market research firms calculates that such growth means that  7.7% o fall broadband lines carry IPTV service, no change since Q1 2010.