A Recommender System for an IPTV Service Provider: a Real Large-Scale Production Environment

In this chapter1 we describe the integration of a recommender system into the production environment of Fastweb, one of the largest European IP Television (IPTV) providers. The recommender system implements both collaborative and content-based techniques, suitably tailored to the specific requirements of an IPTV architecture, such as the limited screen definition, the reduced navigation capabilities, and the strict time constraints. The algorithms are extensively analyzed by means of off-line and on-line tests, showing the effectiveness of the recommender systems: up to 30% of the recommendations are followed by a purchase, with an estimated lift factor (increase in sales) of 15%.