The increased penetration of broadband and advanced data transmission technologies such as 3G coupled with the launch of next generation tablets and high-end smartphones is leading to growth in demand for digital content. The online digital content market is showing significant growth and Tavess expects it to cross $150 billion by 2012.
Content owners are investing heavily in digital content delivery systems in order to manage high volumes of traffic on their web sites, and to provide a seamless uninterrupted digital content viewing experience to users. In addition, users are demanding high quality content over multiple devices such as the mobile phones, laptops and tablets, and are seeking greater integration among all these devices driving the demand of digital content delivery systems and services.
The key trends prevailing in the digital content segment include increased demand for subscription-
based content services, advertisement-based free content services, integration of digital content with social networking, and digital content service bundling. Users are beginning to adopt subscription-based content services, paying a particular monthly fee for unlimited content access.
Various web sites are cashing in on this trend. For instance, subscription to music web sites such as Napster and Rhapsody provides unlimited music access to users for a particular fee. These web sites also enable users to listen to their playlist on multiple devices.
The subscription based model remains more successful in developed markets such as the US, UK, Japan, and South Korea. In developing countries such as China and India, where content piracy is rampant, content owners continue to leverage the advertisement-based content delivery model making users watch a few advertisements before playing their free content thereby monetizing their content through advertisements. Digital content bundles are also gaining traction with telecommunication operators launching content bundles encompassing telecommunication services bundled with digital content such as digital TV.