Streaming Media To Draw $70 Billion In Revenue Before 2014Streaming Media To Draw $70 Billion In Revenue Before 2014

Streaming video and music will generate $70 billion in revenue overt the next six years, according to a research report released Monday.

The Insight Research reported that content streamed over the Internet, IPTV networks, and mobile handsets will increase revenue through content and networks.

Insight's study, "Streaming Media, IPTV, and Broadband Transport: Telecommunications Carriers and Entertainment Services 2008-2013," covers several issues affecting the streaming market.

On-demand audio and video, as well as the revenue they generate, are expected to boost the market, which will grow at a compound annual rate of almost 29% through 2013, according to Insight.

"The outlook for streaming media has never been brighter," Robert Rosenberg, Insight Research president, said in a statement released with the study. "Questions surrounding consumers' willingness to pay for content have been dispelled by satellite radio and iTunes. The forecasts that we present are conservative and in line with current performance."

In fact, if per-stream costs decrease faster than expected, or consumers accept IPTV sooner than predicted, or 3G delivery takes off more quickly than forecast, "it could blow the doors off" Insight's predictions and push the industry's growth to "explosive" levels, Rosenberg said.

Insight examined several factors that face the market, including: licensing, broadband Internet access, mass-market demand, and enterprise use.

Insight said its forecasts include revenues for the U.S. market by network services and by content services. The predictions for network services include digital rights management (DRM), encoding, and performance measurement. Revenue figures for content services cover advertising, music on-demand, Internet radio and video on-demand. Hard copies of the entire 140-page report are available for $3,995.