MUMBAI: trend that started with personal video recorders is once again transforming the video industry as consumers demand greater flexibililty and convenience in acquiring entertainment content.
On-demand viewing of TV programmes and movies in the US will generate $10 billion in On Demand video annual revenues, according to In-Stat. Revenue from retail video disc sales and rentals will be in decline, with no leveling in sight.
Overall, there will be three growing on demand video revenue streams:
Transaction- Video-on-Demand (T-VOD) encompasses online TV rentals, pay-TV VOD rentals and pay-per-view
Subscription VOD (S-VOD) includes online video subscription services, premium TV channels, as well as free VOD with a pay-TV service.
Electronic Sell-Through (EST) covers the purchase of TV and movie content, independent of subsequent content delivery methods.
Success of on demand electronic sell through (EST) will hinge primarily on the buy vs. rent decision. Realistically, EST can not replace historic retail DVD video sales. However, the migration of DVD rentals to online T-VOD services will help fill this revenue gap.
Subscription VOD will see the highest growth rate, but also the most intense competition.
In-Stat principal analyst Keith Nissen says, “The transition to on-demand video does not mean that linear TV is coming to an end. What we are seeing is the economics of the digital entertainment world have begun to shift. The future will be a hybrid ecosystem, made up of both linear TV and on-demand video revenue streams. Pay-TV and broadcast TV services still generate the majority of the revenue, but both business models are currently under stress. On-demand viewing of video content, whether by transaction or subscription, is taking hold. In order to ensure the continuation of existing revenue streams, new value propositions must be created.”
US TV download revenue will more than triple between 2010 and 2014. Online ? la carte rental of TV episodes will directly compete with online subscription TV services, such as Hulu Plus and Netflix, and may detrimentally impact the use of TV Everywhere services.
