ABI: Online Video Viewers to Reach 1 Billion by 2013

LONDON, May
30: A new study by ABI Research reveals that increased broadband penetration
and faster Internet access speeds will drive the number of online video viewers
to at least 1 billion in 2013.

“The rapid
expansion of broadband video creates opportunities across a number of market
sectors,” said Cesar Bachelet, a senior analyst at ABI. “A wide variety of
actors aim to gain a share of this fast-growing market: not only content owners
such as the BBC and NBC Universal, and Internet portals such as AOL and Yahoo!,
but also a range of new entrants including user-generated content sites such as
YouTube and Dailymotion, broadband video sites such as CinemaNow and Lovefilm,
and Internet TV providers such as Apple and Zattoo.”

The report
cautions that pay-TV platforms cannot afford to ignore the proliferation of the
broadband content networks. However, Bachelet notes, “Pay-TV providers should
refrain from knee-jerk responses, or adopting defensive measures aimed at
discouraging consumers from using those services. That would only produce
resentment from subscribers and likely defections from their services.”

What they
can do, Bachelet says, is “offer access to content via this increasingly
popular alternative platform. They can offer content beyond that available
through traditional channels, and they can reach a new set of subscribers.”

—By
Mansha Daswani