Multi-screen, multi-platform content delivery is fast becoming a necessity for those looking to compete in digital media and entertainment markets worldwide as cheaper, more functional smartphones, media tablets and mobile telecomputing devices proliferate. Revenues from multi-screen content platforms will exceed $21 billion in 2015, according to research from NPD In-Stat.
High-definition (HD) content is quickly becoming the norm and consumers now expect HD viewing on almost every device, NPD In Stat notes, and pay-TV service providers are intensifying their efforts to build out and promote ‘TV Everywhere’ in response to direct-to-consumer OTT video competitors, such as Netflix.
“Consumers now expect to have professional video available on an ever-expanding number of devices, and they want their ‘user experience’ to be under their control,” according to Gerry Kaufhold, NPD InStat’s research director.
“It’s no longer simply a matter of delivering 1080p D video to their device, they want to share what they are viewing with their connected community, they want to upload their own additions to the content, and they want to be able to engage with their content on whatever device provides the best experience at any particular time.”
Key findings in NPD In-Stat’s “Worldwide Multiscreen Content Delivery Platforms” report include:
- Asia Pacific will have the most active multi-screen households by 2015.
- Latin America, India, and emerging markets will primarily use mobile data services.
- The CAGR for viewing hours is expected to be about 88% from 2010 through 2015.
- Western Europe is expected to be a hot growth market for subscription-based multi-screen content delivery platforms.
- Direct-to-consumer services are the early revenue leader for multi-screen content delivery platforms, but price competition is expected in a few years from the pay-TV TV Everywhere services.
- 273 million households will be using some kind of multi-screen service by 2015.
