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OTT subscriptions surge

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 19 May 2015
Viewing video online has become a much more widespread activity in many people's lives, says Juniper Research.
Viewing video online has become a much more widespread activity in many people's lives, says Juniper Research.

Subscribers to over-the-top (OTT) TV services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime will increase from 92.1 million in 2014, to 332.2 million globally by 2019.

That's according to a recent whitepaper by Juniper Research, which notes consumers will favour connected TVs as their primary screen, especially when one considers the trend for watching long-form video on OTT subscription services.

"The growing popularity of watching and sharing TV online has meant that viewing video online has also become a much more widespread activity in many people's lives, particularly the younger demographic," says Lauren Foye, research analyst at Juniper.

"There are many sites which allow people to view user-generated content, music videos, film trailers, news and so forth. This behaviour originated from the trend for DTV [digital TV] given that online video does not conform to a schedule and Internet TV and online video services often see less advertising within the show compared to shows on traditional TV," she adds.

Continued growth in the North American market will see it remain as the leading region in terms of subscriber numbers, closely followed by the Far East, as this region emerges with new services and increased consumer interest, says the research firm.

According to the research, with the advent of smartphones and tablets with Internet capabilities, Internet mobile TV has become a major revenue source for content providers.

Using WiFi or cellular data connections, it explains, users can download apps or visit Web sites to stream content to their devices.

"Recent years have seen a shift away from the traditional method of viewing TV via broadcast services," Foye says. "Instead, users have shown a much greater demand for content as video-on-demand (VOD), which allows them to watch their favourite shows whenever they want."

Consumer needs have changed rapidly in relation to content access over the past few years, she notes. "The traditional release window has become distorted with the introduction of OTT content providers. Now with services such as Amazon Instant Video, users can stream or download movies as they become available in the DVD/Blu-ray release window."

Juniper Research notes VOD allows users to watch TV, when they want, where they want, provided they have an Internet connection. This service is offered by many television networks and often promoted as 'catch-up TV'.

The idea is that TV is no longer fixed to schedules, instead viewers can choose when they want to watch content, it notes, adding VOD may also include films and TV which can be purchased and viewed at a time suitable to the consumer.

Foye points out that many content providers now offer downloads, either as a rental service or as buy to keep. "This means users can often access content 'offline', allowing them to view purchased television shows or movies on the go."

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