Will video ever drive the Internet?
Video streaming by broadband Internet users was up 42 percent in the first half of 2004, according to the Broadband Viewer Metrics and Market Analysis 2000-2004 report by AccuStream iMedia Research. AccuStream research director Paul A. Palumbo noted that content published for broadband users is increasing and “broadband advertising is also appearing there more frequently.”
Broadband users accessed an average of 15.4 video streams per month during the first half of 2004, up 42.6% over 2003 for sites with 90% broadband usage.Out of 5 billion total video streams analyzed this year, 79.1% were served at broadband rates (100 Kbps and above), with an average bit rate of 225 Kbps and length-of-view of over two minutes per stream.
Including all video streams served, per unique user consumption of streaming video rose 23% to 3.17 streams on a per month, per site basis.
I remember several discussions with friends that began with the statement, “Video doesn’t drive the Internet.” I lost the arguments back then, but this growth is undeniable. Video still may not be the essential driver, but it is certainly finding a home here.
August 18th, 2004 at 11:42 pm
It will be interesting to see if video will continue to grow, especially since search engines cannot read video content. I would love to create all my pages in Flash, but it would be nearly impossible to get decent search engine rankings.