Industry participants in the US over-the-top (OTT) video market are positioning themselves for what is anticipated to be a high-growth market with multi-billion dollar revenue streams, reports research firm In-Stat. Companies such as Netflix, Blockbuster, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, YouTube, and Hulu are all vying for a piece of the action.
“OTT video is happening now, with over 37 million broadband households in the US downloading online video content,” said Keith Nissen, In-Stat analyst, in a statement. “The growing adoption of both OTT video consumption and web-enabled consumer electronics promises to further expand the opportunity content producers and OTT retailers.”
Recent research by In-Stat found the following: US broadband households that view OTT video will grow from 38 million in 2009 to 81 million by 2014; revenue from OTT video will more than quadruple by 2014 as it approaches $20 billion (€15.9 billion); a primary success criteria for OTT video services is access to unique, first-run TV and movie content.
Over one-third of the 18–24 year old adult households stream full-length OTT video on a regular basis, compared to less than 10% of adult households in the over 45 year-old age brackets, according to In-Stat in their report The US Market for Over-the-Top Video Services.
