Skip to main content

Online Video Growth Exceeds Prior Estimate

In case you haven't noticed, online video is totally pervasive. The worldwide online video market is experiencing truly dramatic growth, according to In-Stat's latest market study it's beyond most prior estimates.

Worldwide online video revenue is now expected to eclipse $4.5 billion by 2012, up from $1.2 billion in 2008, the high-tech market research firm says.

Purchased or rented videos are expected to offer the most robust growth for online video in the near term, in large part due to an increase in subscription services such as Netflix, which charges a flat monthly fee to deliver an optimal combination of packaged goods and online content that can be viewed on home TV sets.

Ad-supported professional video from major TV networks will become a strong revenue contributor by 2012.

"What is now seen as a predominantly younger pastime will spread to encompass a wider group of people, in part due to the aging of current online video viewers, but also as a result of word of mouth, spread of services, growth of in-home networks, and new network-connected consumer electronic devices," says Gerry Kaufhold, In-Stat analyst.

"The survey data in a recent In-Stat report indicates that over half of consumers actually still prefer packaged goods, which potentially bodes well for Blu-ray discs. Surprisingly, younger people who regularly watch online were the group that expressed the highest interest in owning a package goods bundle that includes artwork and extra content."

The In-Stat research covers the worldwide market for online video, including video rental/purchase, ad-supported TV programs, and ad-supported User Generated Video. The report presents an in-depth discussion of the market dynamics, as well as analysis of the various online video business models, and concludes that flat-rate pricing for a combination of packaged goods and online convenience is becoming the winning approach.

It provides forecasts for broadband penetration, growth in online video viewers, and online video revenue for three categories through 2012. It also includes analysis of a recent In-Stat U.S. consumer survey on online video.

In-Stat's market study found the following:

- By 2012, 39 percent of adults in the U.S. are expected to have purchased or rented online video.

- 54 percent of respondents to an In-Stat survey of U.S. consumers still favor physical discs when purchasing movies or TV shows.

- By 2012, In-Stat forecasts that 90 percent of U.S. households will have access to broadband, with 94 percent of these individuals watching online video.

Popular posts from this blog

How Online Video Exceeded Pay-TV Revenue

The global streaming industry has spent the better part of a decade chasing subscriber counts as the primary metric of success. That era is now formally over. New market data from Omdia confirms that the industry has crossed a decisive threshold; one that shifts the competitive playing field from growth-at-all-costs to monetization discipline. For senior executives navigating media, advertising, and technology strategy, the implications extend well beyond entertainment. A Historic Revenue Crossover Online video revenue increased 13.5 percent to $176 billion in 2025, while pay-TV revenue declined 4 percent to $170 billion; marking the first time in the industry's history that streaming has surpassed legacy pay-TV in revenue terms. This is not a rounding error or a statistical artifact; it represents the culmination of more than a decade of structural disruption to the traditional broadcast and cable TV model. Global subscriptions to online video services reached 2.24 billion by the ...