Confirming the popularity of online music, a report has shown that music videos were by far the most viewed streaming media content type during the first half of this year. AccuStream iMedia Research of Canada found that there were 5.6bn streams for the six months to June and 1.86 billion (33.6pc) of these were music videos.
News and information was the next most widely viewed category with 18.2pc of streamed downloads, although this was actually the largest drop of any category, having been 28pc in 2003. Sport footage and video applications were the third most popular content type for the half year at 15.6pc.
According to AccuStream, the trends in 2004 follow a similar pattern revealed over the past few years, where music videos, news and sports content have typically been the top content categories on a monthly and annual basis.
Other content categories which the report uncovered include movies – short films, long-form features and trailers – as well as general entertainment. Internet TV, which is a cross-platform type of broadcast for reality programmes such as Survivor and Big Brother, made a substantial rise to record a viewing share of 14.5pc.
Research director Paul A Palumbo commented: “While music, news and sports are the most popular categories today, publishers are offering more types of content online. That coupled with more broadband users and distribution partnerships is going to alter viewing share patterns.”
By Gordon Smith
