Report Forecasts Strong Gains in OTT Rental Revenues

SCOTTSDALE: ABI Research is forecasting that in the over-the-top market, rental revenues will eclipse subscription revenues by 2014, generating $32 billion by 2017, up from a predicted $8 billion this year.

“Connected CE and mobile devices continue to push consumer behavior towards newer forms of media distribution like OTT and multi-screen services," said practice director Sam Rosen. "Pay-TV services will continue to thrive, by implementing multi-screen services and supporting OTT content. In the end we expect an amalgamation of services that complement each other for many consumers.”

ABI Research’s OTT and Multi-screen Services Research Service also forecasts that brands will begin shifting their ad dollars to the OTT market. "While many consumers today claim to use mobile and portable devices while watching TV, most of us are in actuality poor at multitasking," said senior analyst Michael Inouye. "In many cases this means consumers are more acutely aware about the content on their portable device than the TV. While second screen advertising is not necessarily OTT content it does speak to the importance of targeting these connected devices that extend the reach of content beyond the TV.”