AccuStream Research: Pro Online Video Up 18% in '09; Internet Brands Capture 52% Share, Broadcast Nets Deliver Strong Viewer Conversion Rates

SEASIDE, Calif., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Professionally produced, hosted or syndicated online media and entertainment video views increased by 18% in 2009 to 49.1 billion, according to a report published by AccuStream Research.

The report, Pro Online Video: View Analytics and Category Share provides rigorous analytical explanation and detailed graphical illustrations of historical and market growth forecasts to 2014 based on extensive AccuStream data sets spanning 1998 – 2009, compiled and sorted by month, site, brand, event, affiliate partners, channels and aggregation services.

Internet brands (counting online entertainment destinations owned and operated by major media companies such as Comcast, CBS, Fox Broadcasting, NBC, ABC that include Fancast.com, Hulu.com and TV.com) captured 52.1% of total professional video views in 2009.

Cable and television cross-platform brands captured a 33% share, while broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and CW) captured a 10.3% share, a figure which incorporates serialized episodic program views. Broadcast affiliates, magazines and newspapers combined for a 4.5% share.

The major broadcast networks enjoyed the highest viewer conversion rates, with 5.9 views per unique user per site per month, followed by Internet brands at 5.1; cable TV networks and premium channels generated a 4.9 view comparable.

Television video views increased category share by 85.7% to 13% of total video views across all categories (compared to 7% in 2008), driven principally by episodic programming on brand operated, co-owned or affiliated sites. Episodic views increased by 134% in 2009.

Television and entertainment (including Kids programming) combined for a 51.2% share of total views, with content aggregation services at 14.3% (including AOL, MSN, Comcast, Blinkx, Real Networks and CNET).

News and information video captured a 14% share, while sports, music and movies generated 20.4% of the annual figure.

"The growth stimulus of syndication and affiliation acting on professionally branded and owned content has clearly been a beneficial one, specifically for rights holders," commented research director Paul A. Palumbo.

"However, maintaining growth and viewing share will require rights holders make a concerted commitment to increasing library size, functionality and accessibility, particularly in the Entertainment and Kids categories."

AccuStream Research (http://www.accustreamresearch.com) is a publishing, research and consulting firm specializing in online audio, video, CDN, advertising, subscription and video CMS platforms.

SOURCE AccuStream Research