Multi-screen TV services are building momentum around the world, according to UK consultancy Ovum, with triple-play becoming the norm and differentiation thus turning to innovation around content, interactive features and portability.

Ovum goes on to say that those operators which develop compelling offerings with converged features across all three screens (TV, PC and mobile) will have the advantage, and those that control the content will "continue to have the edge".

The company goes on to say that content remains key to success - although many in the pay-TV industry thought that users of Internet and mobile TV in particular would desire different, less premium content, this is stated to not be the case. 

"No matter how sophisticated the multi-screen offering, if the right selection of premium content is not available then customers will remain indifferent to the service," states Ovum.  In addition, without premium or exclusive content, some of the revenue opportunities (such as pushing content out through new channels) will be "limited", if not closed altogether.

In contrast to many other industry commentators, the consultancy states that actually trying to develop the same experience over any applicable device in any location could be "dangerous", and actually lead to an unsatisfactory experience rather than an enhanced one.  Although similar functionality and design should be used to provide a familiar look and feel across all screens, the actual service delivered to each screen needs to be optimised to that particular device, and the location of the device, if the experience is going to be an enjoyable one, according to Ovum.