ABI Research ( News - Alert) says that, although majority of consumers watch online video on their PCs, the ultimate destination for much of this content will be the TV set. Solutions are being developed by the hardware vendors in the gaming console, media adapter, and set-top box space that will enable delivery of video content from the public Internet directly to the television.
“The biggest challenge for online video providers and consumer platform companies today is bridging to the TV,” said ABI Research director Michael Wolf in a statement. “Over the next few years, new solutions from the likes of Apple ( News - Alert), Netgear, and Sony will help cross this divide, making à la carte video download and viewing much easier. That doesn’t mean this transition will be an easy one: factors such as video quality, pricing of content, and technical glitches will persist for some time.”
According to a recent ABI Research survey of online consumers, 12% of respondents purchased some form of video content delivered over the Internet. Of those, 71% watched this video on their PCs, and 16% watched it on a TV using a burned DVD.
Currently, only 8% watched their video content using a gaming console as their video playback device. However, because of their close proximity to the TV, large hard drives, and the high penetration of online services among gamers, ABI predicts video game consoles will lead in total revenue for public Internet video delivery of all the consumer platforms for TV playback.
Wolf explained that Internet video delivery services for TV playback, including gaming consoles and products such as Apple TV, will ultimately create significant pay-content revenue opportunities if consumer platform vendors can provide easy-to-use solutions with good quality and large libraries, while offering attractive pricing options, whether subscription, download-to-own, or rental.
Headquartered in New York, ABI Research maintains global operations supporting annual research programs, intelligence services and market reports in broadband and multimedia, RFID & contactless, M2M, wireless connectivity, mobile wireless, transportation, and emerging technologies.
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Anuradha Shukla is a contributing writer for TMCnet covering call centers, CRM and information technology.
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