Akamai Comments on Higher Definition Video Online Trend

Akamai Technologies, a leading provider of services for powering media, dynamic transactions and enterprise applications online, has announced that it is witnessing a trend toward higher definition (HD) video online.
Akamai, working closely with market intelligence firm Broadband Directions, recently conducted a survey of leading broadcast and cable networks, online publishers, sports leagues and social media sites.
The company said that the results demonstrated that there was a substantial near-term interest in launching HD broadband video, with a number of offerings already launched.
Nearly 75% of respondents said that they have plans to offer HD video content to their online audiences. In terms of timing, more than 80% of respondents with plans to offer HD content said they either already offered HD broadband video or intend to introduce it within the next 24 months. Fully half of respondents said they already offer it or intend to do so within the next 12 months.
While short-term (e.g. previews, news clips) HD content was being offered by close to half of respondents, long-form (e.g. movies, TV episodes, sporting events) was not far behind at 35%. One way to interpret the relatively strong interest in long-form is that rights-holders of high-quality video programming (mainly TV networks and film studios), which tend to be highly focused on the user experience, are now only being drawn into broadband because HD is becoming economically and technically possible.
Tim Napoleon, Chief Strategist of Media & Entertainment, at Akamai, said: "Now while 500-700 kbps is more of the norm, we're seeing companies really pushing the envelope with 1.5 - 2 megabits per second and HD, in the ranges of up to 6 megabits per second bitrates, across our network.
"This is clearly an indication of consumer desire to experience higher quality content, and of content producers' efforts to meet those needs quickly."
The study identified increases in consumer last mile bandwidth speeds and penetration, as well as proven premium business models around HD video online, as the business and technical requirements that are most important to broadcasters when making their decision to offer HD video programming online.
Will Richmond, President of Broadband Directions LLC, a market intelligence firm specialising in broadband video, said: "Content providers are enthusiastic about pushing the quality bar, through a key issue of delivery and potential ROI."
Further information is available at: www.thehdweb.com.
(KMcA/JM)