Video downloads will grow from 215 million in 2008 to more than 2.4
billion in 2012, with rentals accounting for about half of these,
according to new research published Thursday.
Research group ABI said rental, download-to-own and subscription
models will all see significant traction as new solutions for bringing
online video to the TV flourish. However, most downloads -- about half
-- will be through rental, in particular for online movie rentals, it
said.
"The opening up of rental for video on iTunes is not surprising, given
that is how most consumers looking for legal paid movie downloads will
choose to acquire them," ABI research director Michael Wolf said.
"Distribution offerings for movies that are in attractive release
windows and that offer easy viewing on a TV or portable screen will
see the greatest success."
However, challenges still remain for this market, ABI said,
particularly competition from legacy VOD services as well as
unattractive ownership and rental terms offered by the studios.
The group added that rival service providers such as cable and IPTV
are offering impressive VOD libraries to consumers through their
traditional pay video services, and increasingly video service
providers such as Comcast are expanding into over-the-top streaming.
Additionally, ABI said over-the-top rental terms are becoming
unattractive as the studios dictate the same rental terms to all
distributors, even iTunes. "Studios are locked into the same 24-hour
'once-started' viewing window and similar pricing for all online
rental partners," Wolf said. "We believe that over time they will
begin to offer greater flexibility, in particular as DVD and other
physical media continue to mature and new consumer Internet-to-TV
hardware expands their audience of consumers."
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.