IPTV is the most common appellation of television and/or video signal broadcasting systems by subscription using broadband connections over IP. It is often supplied with the internet access service, on the same infrastructure, but with a reserved bandwidth.
The acronym IPTV covers direct television, video on demand (VoD), and catch-up TV. Transmission methods are diverse. Direct television uses IP multicast to transmit data simultaneously to several destinations at once. VoD and catch-up TV rely on IP unicast, transmitting to a single destination at at a time.
It uses the same infrastructure as internet access, but with a reserved bandwidth. In France it is often supplied with high speed internet subscriptions. Internet access/service providers refer to triple-play offers (internet, telephone, television).