One word SKY which is HUGE for TV in europe and i mean huge(not sure about US)
And with Sony having a deal with them to bring VoD to PSP, it wouldnt surprise me if they struck a deal for PS3.

I think they use BT to provide the lines for their internet service.
I wonder how a battle between BT and SKY would play out seeing that SKY rely on BT.

I have cable because i live too far from my local telephone exchange for a good ADSL connection.
But if IPTV takes off in a big way it won't be long before Virgin Media join in.

Putting together an IPTV package is not a job for dealmakers. It requires a whole set of broadcast industry technology and expertise in server OS technology. MS has been working in this field for 15 years, believe it or not. There is exactly *one* other company on the planet that has even a prayer of delivering an alternative to the MS Mediaroom system and that is Siemens. And they are three years behind MS, maybe 5.
Sony is a member of a japanese consortium that is trying to cook up an alternative to the MS and Siemens offerings. The sum total of their efforts to date? An agreement to meet and *start* drafting a paper specification.
Expect no products for five years.

Sorry, but Sony is going to have to either buy Siemens or start putting Cablecards into PS3 to get anywhere within telescope distance of Mediaroom. And Cablecard certification takes 18-24 months. (That's what its taking for the Cablecard equipped MCE PCs that interface with, ahem, the 360.)

If they're serious, and start now, they might get something together in time for the PS4...

huh whats your broadband provider its cheap?

mine cost £25 per month and its upto 24megs and its unlimited

They mean you have to sign up for the new BT IPTV Video service which runs over BT broadband. This is *not* a video streaming service; it is a cableTV type service. Think of it this way: cable companies are offerin voice and data services, trying to take customers away from the phone companies. IPTV is the phone companies returning the favor and trying to take video customers away from the cable companies.

Therefore MS get the largest audience for their IPTV
Almost all internet providers use BT lines.
With the exception of some cable providers.

AOL, Tiscali, SKY, Orange all use BT lines

MS didn't choose BT--BT chose MS.
Microsoft has been trying to sell their IPTV system to all comers for five years. The others said no, BT said yes.
That simple.