Online TV to take off
Recent research shows that by 2012, revenues from online TV (legitimate, online TV) will be ten times what they were in 2006 - reaching ~$6.3bn.
The research identified that the trend towards online TV is symptomatic of wider socio-cultural changes, with a ‘new breed’ of consumers emerging that just won’t accept traditional TV. Whether there is a defined group of this ‘new breed’, or if it’s just the generation that has grown up with society changing services like YouTube and MySpace, is difficult to tell.
Simon Dyson, co-author of the report said:
“the TV business has already acknowledged some of the changes and is pushing concepts such as on-demand and digital video recorders. The rise of online TV and video is another step that tips the balance of power towards the consumer.”
What the move to online TV means for traditional broadcasters, particularly those that don’t ‘move with the times’, is that the future shapers of the industry such as YouTube, Google Video, MovieLink, CinemaNow etc will be the ones growing in power.
