Approximately 13.2 million households used IPTV services by the end of last year, with 8.4 million IP-enabled set-top boxes shipped worldwide over the course of the year, according to a recent study by IMS Research.

“IPTV: A Global Market Analysis 2008 Edition,” as the study is titled, predicts that the number of households using IPTV will increase at an annual rate of 52.2% through 2012.

The increasingly competitive pay-TV landscape with proliferation of new content, triple/quadruple play offerings, and new Internet-based TV services is one of the main factors behind IPTV household growth, explained Shane Walker, the IMS Research analyst who authored the study.

Another important factor is the rapid uptake of IPTV services in China and South Korea as governments relax regulations restricting deployment and as telcos become more involved with expanding IPTV services, Walker went on to say.