Online video content in most households by 2012, report finds

November 24th, 2011

Online video will be present in the vast majority of households across the globe by 2012, according to new research.

Global consulting firm Bain & Company studied 3,000 consumers residing in Europe, Asia and the US in a bid to compile its Connected Devices and Services: Reinventing Content report.

The report concluded that three-fifths of all households were now making use of online video, with that level only expected to grow further over the coming few years.

Consumers were also found to have upped their usage of the medium as a result of the surge in connected devices such as smartphones and tablets, which is tipped to drive the uptake of online video to an impressive 60 per cent of households by the year 2014.

The Bain & Company report also found that many consumers had turned to online video over recent years due to their desire to access video games, live entertainment, instructional videos, films and other 'cultural activities.'

Sixty-nine per cent of those questioned for the report reported that they were interested in viewing online video content of some sort on connected devices. Meanwhile, 66 per cent said that they used their devices to play video games, with 60 per cent reporting that they accessed the visual arts and live entertainment through the devices.

Consumer attitudes to online usage were also shifting, the report revealed, highlighting the fact that the majority of web users reported that they were now more interested in watching online video than they were in tuning into traditional television channels.

Head of Bain's Media & Entertainment Practice in Europe and lead author of the Connected Devices and Services: Reinventing Content study, Patrick Behar, told Rapid TV News, “The permanent media revolution continues."

"But media and entertainment companies must pursue aggressive content development and diversification strategies to unlock new consumer spending," added Mr Behar.