Campbell, California – Amid their challenges in differentiating content, pay-TV providers are looking to stand out from their competitors by offering additional services and features, such as multi-screen viewing, social networking, and content discovery and recommendation services, according to a latest report by market research firm Infonetics Research.

Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband access and video at Infonetics Research, noted that multi-screen video, which is also called TV Everywhere, is gaining momentum across all pay-TV operator types—cable , satellite, and IPTV—in all regions worldwide. In Infonetics Research’s latest report, 2012 IPTV Service Deployment Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey, 83% of the operators interviewed plan to offer some type of multi-screen viewing—in PCs, smartphones, and tablets—by 2013.

Also, the report noted that subscription video-on-demand (S-VOD) is the money-maker among VOD offerings, with 83% of respondents offering S-VOD for access to premium channels like HBO, Showtime, and Starz, and libraries of first-run movies today. When it comes to social networking capabilities for the TV, about 1/3 of IPTV operators surveyed currently offering the service.