Akamai Technologies has released a white paper in which it suggests that over 80% of European broadcasting organisations – Including TV Stations and Film Producers - are planning to offer high definition (HD) content online over the next year, with nearly half of those surveyed citing consumer demand as the driving factor behind increased HD content online.
The Director of Digital Media Europe at Akamai Technologies, Alex Gibbons, says "The shift toward Internet TV has users demanding new video quality standards and offers broadcasters ample opportunities to develop new premium business models around HD content."
Over 50% of those looking to offer HD content online plan to do so with bitrates of 4 Mbit/sec and over, with 20% aiming for over 8 Mbit/sec – at the moment streaming videos offered at these bitrates may not be available to the majority of people in the UK, as the current average speed of fixed line connections in the UK is currently 3-4 Mbit/sec (but this all depends on where you live in relation to your nearest telephone exchange.)
The paper also says that less than 1 in 5 companies surveyed currently offer online HD content, but nearly two thirds are planning to offer it within the next 12 months. Initially it appears that the content offered will be short in duration, such as movie or program trailers etc, with only about half of those surveyed suggesting they plan to offer longer content like TV Programmes or full Movies.
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