The number of U.S. households viewing over-the-top (OTT) video, video delivered via the public Internet, will skyrocket to 81 million by 2014, up from 38 million in 2009, according to a new forecast from research firm In-Stat.
"OTT video is happening now, with over 37 million broadband households in the US downloading online video content," Keith Nissen, In-Stat analyst, says. In response, industry participants are positioning themselves for what they expect to be a high-growth, multibillion-dollar revenue source. Netflix, Blockbuster, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, YouTube and Hulu are all vying for a piece of the action.
Findings of recent In-Stat research presented in "The US Market for Over-the-Top Video Services" include:
- Revenue from OTT video will more than quadruple by 2014 as it approaches $20 billion.
- A primary success criteria for OTT video services is access to unique, first-run TV and movie content.
More than one-third of 18– to 24-year-old adult households stream full-length OTT video on a regular basis, compared to less than 10 percent of adult households.
