There were 536,000 subscribers to IPTV services in Germany at the end of last year, according to the German Association for IT, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM), compared to 180,000 at the end of 2007.

"More and more people are discovering IPTV, the television of the future," said Achim Berg, Vice President of BITKOM.  "The demands on television consumption are changing in the Internet age... IPTV gives viewers freedom."

Trend drivers are thought to include the proliferation of modern flat panel displays, featuring higher resolutions and Internet connectivity integrated into the latest models, and the ability for users to use such features as email, instant messaging and video on demand via an IPTV service.

Deutsche Telekom accounts for the majority of German IPTV subscribers, having recently reported that it passed 500,000 subscribers for its 'T-Home Entertain' service at the end of 2008.  Telecom Italia subsidiary HanseNet meanwhile reported last year that it had 25,000 subscribers to its own service 'Alice Home TV' as of August 2008.