Reprinted with permission from FindLaw.com
You have to be on another planet not to know that YouTube is the dominant site for accessing video streaming media. You also have to be on an inaccessible island not to be aware that Facebook has become an Internet social networking beast. But did you know that Facebook is coming on strong in the video streaming space? Read on.
The Nielsen Company recently has come out with some interesting U.S. statistics. For example, the number of unique viewers for online video usage for October, 2009 stood at 138,623,000, up 14.8% from the year before. The total number of streams was 11,226,935,000 for October, 2009, an increase of 26.2% over the prior year.
Video streams via YouTube totaled 6,632,964,000 for October, 2009, with 105,923,000 unique viewers. YouTube currently is the dominant player when it comes to free online video streaming.
Next comes Hulu, with 632,662,000 total streams in October, 2009 and 13,472,000 unique viewers.
And while many of us think of Facebook as the big kid on the block when it comes to social networking, we might be surprised to learn from the Nielsen statistics that Facebook comes in third in terms of total video streams for October, 2009, with 217,765,000, and 31,594,000 unique viewers.
The 4th-10th sites for total video streams for October, 2009 in order are: MSN/WindowsLive/Bing, Yahoo!, Fox Interactive Media, ABC Television, Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network, ESPN Digital Network, and CBS Entertainment Network.
Plainly, online video streaming is a force to be reckoned with. And Facebook's rise in this area portends potential destination consolidation.
Eric J. Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris. His focus includes information technology and intellectual-property disputes. This column is prepared and published for informational purposes only, and it should not be construed as legal advice. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author's law firm or its individual partners
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