IDC report: $12B in online video revenue in 2012

An IDC report commissioned by Akamai predicts that global online video revenue will reach $12 billion by 2012, with more than $9 billion coming from the U.S. market. Consumers in the U.S. spent about $1.2 billion on online video in 2008, according to the study, so rapid and pronounced growth will have to occur for the predictions to come to pass.

The study also predicts that online video advertising will provide $3.3 billion of the total in 2012, which is good news for online video ad networks like Tremor Media, BrightRoll and YuMe, as well as local online video advertising providers like Mixpo and Jivox. Whether advertising growth will be this pronounced is up for debate, as several analyst firms have revised online video ad spend estimates down over the past year.

The growth estimates are based on a roughly one-third aggregate increase in online video viewers, proliferation of premium content and HD content online, and increased access to broadband Internet connections.

While such a marked increase in revenue generated by the sector would certainly be a boon for the industry, the IDC projections put year-over-year revenue growth at a staggering 65 percent. Finding that sort of revenue growth in 2009 will prove to be daunting, given the recessionary climate, so it's likely the industry would have to expand at an even greater rate in the following years for these projections to be accurate. 

For more:
- see the Video Business article here 

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