(16 December 2006 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Global revenue from online video sales, rentals or subscriptions will total just $298 million this year, but will grow to nearly $1.5 billion by the end of 2007.

A report from research firm Strategy Analytics states that With more than 100 million TV shows, movies and other programs downloaded, 2006 will be remembered as the year in which online sales of prerecorded video finally became a real business.

Kicked off by a strong push from Apple Computer and other media companies, online video sales will be driven by a fast-growing broadband audience seeking new ways to find, watch and pay for video.

TUsing demand elasticity analysis and feedback from 1,700 broadband users, Strategy Analytics projects that by 2010 global revenue will surge to $5.9 billion, accounting for eight percent of total home video industry revenues. Regions covered in this global forecast report include Asia Pacific, Central and Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and North America.

Companies covered in this report include ABC, Amazon, AOL, Apple, BitTorrent, British Telecom, Channel 4, CinemaNow, Deutsche Telekom, Glowria, Google, Guba, LOVEFiLM, Microsoft, MovieLink, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Starz Entertainment, Viacom, Wal-Mart, the Walt Disney and YouTube.