Skip to main content

VOD Gets Boost from Free Content

Growth in Free-on-Demand (FOD) services and content over the past year has significantly increased overall consumer awareness of and usage of Video-on-Demand (VOD), reports In-Stat. Some leading cable operators like Comcast and Cablevision Systems believe that FOD services are a key differentiator in their battle with Direct Broadcast Satellite services, and they are pressuring content developers to supply them with even more FOD content. "There were approximately 7.5 million worldwide cable-based VOD users at the end of 2004," says Mike Paxton, In-Stat analyst. "VOD user growth is projected to remain strong for the next several years. Total worldwide users are forecasted to rise to almost 13 million at the end of 2005, and ultimately reach 34 million in 2009."

In-Stat's report found the following:

- Based on an end-user survey, 25 percent of all US cable TV subscriber households have tried VOD.
- The "Cost-per-VOD Stream," which measures the total cost of equipment and network operations needed to deliver VOD service to a home, dropped from $300 in mid-2004 to $250 in mid-2005.
- Although the majority of cable VOD service deployments are in North America, during the past year, cable operators in Great Britain, Japan, South Korea, and Israel have launched VOD services.
- Worldwide revenues from cable VOD services totaled $526 million in 2004. While this total was a 55 percent increase over 2003, cable VOD revenues continue to lag user growth as FOD services increase in popularity.

Popular posts from this blog

Rise of Software-Defined LEO Satellites

From my vantage point, few areas are evolving as rapidly and with such profound implications as the space sector. For decades, satellites were essentially fixed hardware – powerful, expensive, but ultimately immutable once launched. That paradigm is undergoing a transition driven by Software-Defined Satellites (SDS). A recent market study by ABI Research underscores this transition, painting a picture of technological advancement and a fundamental reshaping of global connectivity, security, and national interests. LEO SDS Market Development The core concept behind SDS is deceptively simple yet revolutionary: decouple the satellite's capabilities from its physical hardware. Instead of launching a satellite designed for a single, fixed purpose (like broadcasting specific frequencies to a specific region), SDS allows operators to modify, upgrade, and reconfigure a satellite's functions after it's in orbit, primarily through software updates. The ABI Research report highlights ...