Wednesday, June 01, 2011
OTT Video Will Grow to $20B Industry in 2016, Says Report
Over-the-top video, meaning video streamed from online sources to
living rooms via connected boxes, Blu-ray Players, and TVs, will count
1.3 billion subscribers by 2016 and will see revenues of up to $20
billion. That's according to two new reports from ABI Research.
Currently, Netflix is leading the way for OTT revenues. The research
credits Netflix with getting viewers to embrace long-form streamed
video on their TVs. Following Netflix are Apple iTunes and Hulu, which
each claim 15 percent of the current market.
Looking forward, the studies see OTT delivery having a strong impact
on how consumers watch TV.
"Content discovery is just one example of the rapidly changing
environment, with traditional program guides being supplemented by
search and recommendations," says Jason Blackwell, practice director
at ABI Research.
The pull of the OTT market will be so strong, that even traditional
online video sites will move to the living room.
"Over time, more viewing of YouTube and historically Internet-based
platforms will shift to the living room, opening up significant
advertising revenues. This trend will be accelerated based on
YouTube's recently announced increase in VOD content," notes senior
analyst Sam Rosen.
The reports are targeted at video operators and outlines strategies
for future growth. Titled "Over the Top (OTT) and Through the Middle
(TTM) Video" and "Broadband Video to Connected CE and Mobile Devices,"
they're available for purchase from ABI Research.
