AccuStream Research: CDN Sector Expands 18.3% in 2012 to $2.28 Billion; Network and Platform Specialization Sharpens Account Acquisition Focus

SEASIDE, Calif., Feb. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) raised contract revenue 18.3% in 2012, to $2.28 billion, as value-added services (site/app acceleration, cloud solutions, analytics, specialized HTTP video platforms, content transformation, workflow, management, security and rights protection) in addition to core bandwidth provisioning supporting very large video accounts fueled market growth. 

Sector-wide monthly recurring revenue (MRR) rose 8% to $5,265, calculated as an average of each CDN's revenue-per-account performance comparable, as detailed in this market and business analytics report produced by AccuStream Research. 

The report, CDN Operational, Account and Content Vertical Analytics 2012 – 2015, establishes that media and entertainment represents the largest content segment under CDN contract, forming 48.6% of the penetrated market. Professional video, digital video advertising and Internet music radio are highly penetrated verticals.

Professional video bandwidth fees frame a 35.8% share of the available market (counting self-hosting sites), followed by UGC video at 19.6%, mobile video (views and advertising) at 14.8% and music radio/song plays at 11.7%.

Delivery costs are tallied against video views, listening hours, downloads (music/movies) and video advertising (pre/mid/post roll and in-page) revealing total bytes delivered by content vertical.

Operations and infrastructure analysis includes deployed servers, bandwidth percentage of COGS and retail contracts, R & D initiatives plus Cap Ex spending.

Capital efficiency compares new CDN accounts added during the year modeled against revenue and server infrastructure. CDN contracts rose by 61.2% to 54,835, server infrastructure 17.1%, with strong account growth registered in lower MRR bands.

The CDN market is valued across content verticals against both volume (gigabytes transferred) and rate (Mbps) pricing, including transit. Current and historical bandwidth pricing trends are provided.

CDNs include Akamai Technologies, Limelight Networks, BitGravity, CDNetworks, ChinaCache, EdgeCast, Mirror Image, Level 3, Internap, Highwinds, Cachefly, Cloudflare, Mainstream Networks and NetDNA, among others.   

This report's extensive Q & A's conducted with top tier management, technology and sales talent address network topologies and capacity, solutions innovation, software and infrastructure advantages underlying account acquisition strategies.

AccuStream Research (http://www.accustreamresearch.com) produces investor grade sector reports covering digital video viewing and analytics, audio listening, subscription media services and storefronts, in-stream and digital video advertising, video advertising networks, mobile advertising networks, CDN and integrated video platforms.

SOURCE AccuStream Research