The traditional channels of television consumption continue to change, and the latest research from ABI offers more pointers in that regard as the over the top (OTT) video market hit $8bn in 2012.
ABI Research, in its analysis, has also revealed that in the North America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions the year on year growth was in excess of 50%, and forecast that the market will go past $20bn by 2015.
Michael Inouye, senior analyst at ABI Research, commented: “The shift to digital and OTT distribution is accelerating, particularly as content providers increasingly warm up to these channels.
“While pay-TV services are still afforded many advantages, we are approaching the proverbial fork in the road when content owners will decide if they continue down the same path or forge ahead, shaking up the primary means of media distribution as we’ve known it.”
ABI cites Netflix and Hulu, as well as the likes of Apple and Amazon as the key disruptors in the space.
Netflix, of course, has centred its focus on unique in-house content, with House of Cards, starring Kevin Spacey, released in February.
House of Cards, if the uptake is strong, could have long lasting implications on the future of television.
Given there’s no network syndication or cable operator influence, House of Cards is also the first television show to release all episodes of a series in one go for viewers to watch at their own pace, as well as having episodes run for different times, not constrained to the 24 minute conventional slots with advertising in between.
Amazon and Microsoft are also vying for a stake in this latest digital battlefield, with Amazon announcing plans for original programming of its own last year.
The ABI research also examined the methods of OTT video delivery, predicting that OTT video revenue from subscription service will gradually drop to 32% share by 2018 – with it currently at 58%.
Overall, the main takeaway from the research is that there are plenty of twists and turns to come in the TV debate. But who’s going to come out victorious?
