“Sports will be the biggest driver of consumption for online video and advertising, not subscriptions, will generate the lions share of revenue from OSV,” (online sports video), said Screen Digest, an analyst firm, in its Online Sports Video: Rights, Revenues and Forecasts report, released Feb. 20.
The number of OSV streams will grow from 5.2 billion in 2007 to 10.8 billion by 2012. OSV accounted for 35 percent of all streams in the U.S. last year.
OSV includes live online simulcasts, delayed game coverage, highlights, clips, sports news and other sports programming. It is being played by ESPN, Sky Sports, Yahoo!, YouTube and Joost, the report said.
Revenue from OSV in the U.S. will increase from $762 million in 2007 to $2.3 billion in 2012. The revenue comes from advertising and subscriber fees with advertising accounting for 41 percent and subscriber fees 39 percent in 2012. Increasingly, broadcasters are “moving towards offering online propositions as a mix of free value-add to their existing pay-TV sports customers, or free ad supported content to the entire domestic market,” the report said.
The introduction of new forms of TV may change the picture. “With the development of broadband-enabled living room devices which can provide online content direct to the TV set, such as the Playstation 3, the future becomes very uncertain,” the report said. “In this scenario, the consumer will effectively have the clear choice of viewing sports regardless of whether it’s delivered via broadcast TV or the Internet, or if it’s served by a broadcaster or the sports rights holder directly, all on the same living room screen.”
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More