Here is a link to a podcast from Colin Dixon, an analyst with The Diffusion Group (TDG) and contributor to DMW. In this piece, Colin examines recent acquisitions, market conditions, and why consolidation is coming soon to the VOD (video-on-demand) market.

http://www.tdgresearch.com/podcasts/tdgopinion_081106_vod_dixon.wma

Some key takeaways include:

• Comcast, the largest cable TV provider in the world, reports these VOD stats:
  30 million VOD households
  7,500 on-demand programs with 95% being free
  140 million on-demand views per month
  75% of subscribers watch at least one VOD program per month

• VOD concurrency rates are only at the 7% level – meaning only 7 out 100 US households are watching on-demand programming at the same time in the same market

• Some in the industry see concurrency rates approaching 100% (one stream per household) in coming years, due to rapid consumer adoption. Thus VOD systems are going to have to work much harder

• Expect Cisco and Motorola to massively expand in this space, and big players in general to acquire proven solutions

• The more important question is not who will buy whom, but who will buy what

I would guess that stats for VOD viewing in my household would approach 50% and 75% when including recorded DVR programming. When reliably delivered with a large selection, VOD is a beautiful thing.

Related Links:
http://www.thediffusiongroup.com
http://www.tdgresearch.com/analyst_dixon.htm