Market research firm iSuppli Corp. has released a new report suggesting that worldwide overall IPTV service revenue will hit $27 billion by 2010, and that there will be 63 million IPTV subscribers globally by that year.

The company said there were about 2.4 million IPTV subscribers worldwide as of last year, and that the coming boom represents a 92.1% compound annual growth rate by 2010.

In terms of service revenue, straightforward video services will account for the largest portion of these dollars, while value-added media services and IPTV operator advertising will combine to represent more than 14% of the total revenue figure. Corresponding content licensing revenue will reach $11 billion in 2010, according to iSuppli's research.

“The fight to capture the expanding base of IPTV subscribers will put telecom operators on a collision course with existing pay-TV market competitors and with a new class of broadband video portals as they roll out progressively more sophisticated offerings,” said Mark Kirstein, vice president of multimedia content and services for iSuppli, in a statement.

iSuppli's research further shows that the European market has been responsible for much of the early worldwide growth in IPTV, but that markets in Asia will account for the largest portion of subscribers by region by the end of this year. However, the Americas, where average revenue per user is higher, will account for a higher portion of service revenue.

The research firm's latest report is "IPTV Content and Services: Bracing for the Subscriber Wars."