The number of Internet Protocol TV subscribers rose by nearly seven times as of the end of last year since the system's launch in 2008, the Korea Communications Commission said Sunday.

The number jumped to 10.83 million as of the end of 2014, up 25.8 percent from 8.61 million a year earlier, according to data released by the telecom watchdog.

The comparable figures were 1.59 million in 2008, 2.37 million in 2009, 3.65 million in 2010, 4.93 million in 2011 and 6.54 million in 2012.

KT Corp., one of the country's fixed-line operators, had the largest share with 54 percent, or 5.84 million subscribers, as of the end of last year.

SK Broadband Co. came in second with 2.81 million subscribers, or 26.0 percent, followed by LG Uplus Corp. with 2.16 million, or 20.0 percent.

Sales of the IPTV industry soared almost tenfold to 1.12 trillion won ($1.04 billion) in 2013 from 114 billion won in 2008.

The comparable statistics were 224.7 billion won in 2009, 404.3 billion won in 2010, 616.1 billion won in 2011 and 842.9 billion won in 2012.

Industry watchers say the whopping growth came as service providers made efforts to provide innovative experiences to viewers, including Ultra HD services, which boast four times higher resolution than Full HD content. (Yonhap)