A new study shows continued growth in streaming media use, primarily because of strong demand for broadband services and increased corporate use of streaming.
Multimedia Research Group, Sunnyvale, CA, projected that revenues for streaming media servers and storage will grow to $5 billion in 2004.
“Successful streaming is the outgrowth of the high demand for broadband, and of well-run media companies and departments with business models far more robust than the dot-coms,” said Krista Christian, an analyst at MRG.
Streaming will increase as broadband Internet access increases. MRG projects more than 30 million subscribers worldwide in 2004 and notes that an additional 24 million have broadband access through office networks.
Currently, streaming media is being used primarily by the entertainment industry, which has 19 percent of the market share. Financial services firms have 17 percent, computer and telecommunications have 16 percent, and education has 14 percent. In addition, retail and consumer goods companies make up 11 percent of the market, government accounts for 7 percent, healthcare accounts for 8 percent, and real estate and construction account for 4 percent.
Corporations are using streaming media primarily for business-to-business communication (60 percent of streaming), while business-to-consumer is 40 percent of the market. Although an estimated $400 million is spent annually on corporate streaming for training and communications, other niche areas within businesses and in the consumer market need to be examined for streaming opportunities, according to the report.
BTC streaming is used primarily for news applications, which have an 18 percent share of the market; music, which garners a 17 percent share; sports, 15 percent; financial services, 13 percent; and movies, 12 percent.
