Video Streaming: 9 Essential Trends and Statistics to Watch

Video Streaming: 9 Essential Trends and Statistics to Watch

Video streaming has become one of the most popular and influential mediums for relaying and accessing information in today’s digital space.

Video streaming is fast becoming one of the most influential mediums in today’s digital space. According to Statista, online video content now boasts a 90 percent penetration rate among internet users of any device.

And given that there are about 3.5 billion smartphone users worldwide, it is safe to conclude that a multitude of people can now access hours of either paid or free video content from anywhere with an internet connection.

With that said, it also helps to have in mind that online video is not only popular on mobile devices and PCs. Consoles, smart TVs, and video-on-demand have also allowed watching videos online in the living room. Thus, it is a no-brainer that this form of communication continues to enjoy tremendous success, becoming quite profitable.

Case in point, US subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) revenue is expected to grow from USD 11.3 billion in 2018 to USD 125.6 billion in 2022.

In light of the above figures, many businesses have since formulated excellent video promotion strategies to stay competitive. But even as brands focus on building unique visual and interactive experiences for their customers, the best results can only be realized when the right information is analyzed for useful insights. 

This article covered nine introductory online video streaming statistics and trends to watch out for in 2023. Companies can plan excellent video strategies with this information to ensure success this year and beyond. 

What is video streaming?

Video streaming is a kind of media streaming in which the data from a video file is continuously delivered via the Internet to a remote user. It allows a video to be viewed online without being downloaded on a host computer or device.

Over-the-Top Media Services

Unlike ever before, OTT media services are increasing at an incredible pace. According to Finances Online, the number of subscribers currently stands at over 182 million in the US alone.

Driving this unprecedented popularity is the fact that OTT media services provide the end-user with virtually never-ending and real-time access to top-notch video content. Some leading OTT service players include Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and HBO.

Netflix is perhaps known for delving into original production quite early on, with House of Cards, an acclaimed political thriller, being its very first show in this regard. Since then, other players in this industry have gone on to emulate the idea, producing and airing an array of original shows.

Given the classical supply and demand model, the rise in the production of original programs has increased the demand for such content. The younger demographic today uses the availability of original material as an essential factor in choosing an OTT media service provider. 

The players in this industry continue to go the extra mile to uncover innovative ways of offering top-notch and original programs. So far, this strategy has proven to be quite effective, seeing as more and more subscribers continue to embrace online video providers. 

Several OTT providers also partner with mobile operators to further their reach. Apart from that, players in this industry are keen to earn more profits via ads and SVOD. 

Regarding financing digital content programming, Netflix emerges on top and is projected to spend over $17 billion on the same in 2020. And as far as revenues go, Netflix continues to realize year-on-year growth, registering an annual income of $20.156 billion in 2019. This figure translates to a 27.62% increase from 2018. 

Live Streaming Thrives on Social Media

Live streaming on social media was a non-interactive endeavor during its formative stages.

However, one of the standout live-streaming trends in 2022 is the fact that social media networks, such as Facebook and Instagram, now allow for two-way interaction when it comes to live-streaming. People can now converse with news broadcasters in real-time thanks to messaging applications.

Thanks to this newfound capability, the popularity of live streaming has since increased significantly among organizations and people. Today, many business entities consider it an excellent way of advertising, given that it allows brands to send information to their target demographic without going through another party. 

Among the many things driving the extensive use of live streaming, perhaps the most essential is the rapid rise in the number of people who use mobile devices. As such, business organizations have been able to showcase their offerings better, enhancing the end-user’s overall experience. 

When it comes to specific social media platforms, below are essential live-streaming statistics to note:

• Facebook is the top social media platform, with 81 percent;
• Instagram comes in second with 74 percent;
• YouTube rounds up the top three with 70 percent.

Mobile Is People’s Favorite

Mobile has eclipsed television in growth, becoming the favorite mode of accessing video content among users. This trend can be heavily attributed to the need for mobile networks to avail more reliable and convenient broadband and LTE services. 

That said, the cooperation between streaming providers and mobile networks continues to increase daily. These working relationships deliver much value to the end-users and, in turn, result in a rise in video content demand. 

Video-sharing applications have boomed in recent years thanks to the advancement of mobile networks.

Case in point, TikTok, with over 500 million users across the globe, has since become one of the most popular apps among mobile device users. In fact, as of Q1 2019, TikTok was the most downloaded app on the Apple App Store, with 33 million downloads. 

That said, the popularity of video streaming among mobile device users has led to an unprecedented and rapid increase in the number of video streaming startups. Some of the top apps created by these startups include.

Top Apps Created by Startups

The popularity of video streaming among mobile device users has led to an unprecedented and rapid increase in the number of video streaming startups.

• oQQur: Provides access to Live 360 videos for anyone.
• Filmocracy: It is a gamified movie streaming platform that pays you for viewing and rating films.
• Membrs: It is a social network where creators can form subscriber-only community for their fanbase.
• Movvio: This movie and TV show recommendation app features an open community of movie lovers where you can recommend and receive recommendations about the newest and hottest shows in any genre. Movvio points you to the right show or film based on your taste, request, or occasion.
• Tiktok for Web: This digital startup allows users to stream Tiktok videos on the web without signing up or downloading the Tiktok app.

On the other side, cable television subscriptions continue to take a dip. In 2018 alone, 33 million people in the US canceled their Pay-TV subscription at some point. 

Moreover, for the first time, a higher percentage of US households subscribed to a streaming service (69 percent) than traditional Pay-TV (65 percent). Going into the future, this trend is expected to continue, especially since mobile is becoming increasingly popular for accessing content provided by video streaming companies. 

Video Streaming for Business Purposes and Expert Help

Apart from pushing their names, organizations have discovered innovative areas to apply this technology.

Case in point, this tech trend has been implemented in the medical industry, whereby it allows for virtual appointments and meetups with medical practitioners. And if nothing else, video streaming has been integrated into the financial sector, where it enables drive-through banking. 

All that said, video streaming has been quite revolutionary in customer support more than anywhere else. Brands now count on this tech to assist their consumers when there are problems with the goods and services offered. 

What makes video streaming a way better mode of delivering customer service is that it fosters interaction, which is an integral aspect of enhancing CX.

Best of all, this tech keeps companies from having to send technicians and other representatives to their customers whenever issues arise. After all, with video, customers and assistants can instantly interact in real time, solving problems.

More Divisions of Online Streaming Media Services

We already know how OTT media has grown in popularity as more people have accessed and used the internet in recent years. 6 out of 10 people prefer online videos to regular TV. 

So, one of the top trends you can expect is the segmentation and formation of new streaming services and content. An excellent example of this trend is when Disney parted ways with Netflix and Hulu in favor of forming its niche streaming service for its original shows. From that, Disney+ was born. 

With stiff competition in the streaming market and the growing preference for television show streaming as opposed to cable TV, you can expect to see other TV networks forming their content streaming apps instead of using the existing streaming services. 

Music Streaming Will Steadily Replace Radio

Despite being one of the earlier forms of digital mass entertainment, radio has managed to survive.

However, the popularity of music video streaming is threatening to obliterate radio. Part of this trend is the growing number of young people opting for video streaming, otherwise known as Generation Z. 

Generation Z, along with the Millennials (also known as avid internet users), makes up the largest percentage of the world’s population. These generations are streaming and uploading videos in huge numbers. For example, on TikTok, arguably the most popular short video-sharing app, 50% of users are below 34 years old.

Statistics show that YouTube is the most popular choice for watching free music among teens. Teenagers prefer YouTube over the radio. However, premium subscription-based music streaming sites are also gaining popularity as people are willing to pay.

Streaming generated a whopping 75% of the revenue earned that year. And now that the internet is more accessible, affordable, and stable, streaming high-quality videos is easier than ever. 

ML and AI Will Improve Automation and Indexing 

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are arguably the hottest technological innovations of our time.

You can’t talk about AI and ML without mentioning data. As millions of people stream videos each day, massive sets of data are produced. This data, in turn, helps stakeholders to know what content consumers are more interested in to target them.

Until AI entered the picture, there was no way to index video stream lives. Artificial intelligence, together with machine learning, can now catalog these streams in seconds and thereby enable content targeting in real time. 

There are already platforms that help in video indexing. However, we expected to see a more sophisticated stream indexing in real-time in 2020. So, if you are learning how to create an app like TikTok, for example, consider incorporating AI and ML to improve content targeting. AI can also assist in tracking moving objects in a live video and keep the shot focused. 

AI and ML will also help to automate live video experiences. The two technologies have the potential to streamline, manage, and automate video content production, organization, and distribution. 

As we quickly move towards more video content consumption, AI will help reduce human effort and costs associated with creating and distributing live video content. Expect tedious responsibilities like meta-tagging, translation, and live transcription to be handled by AI. After recording, AI and ML can then create highlights of the video based on specific cues and upload them. 

IoT Live Video Surveillance Will Go Mainstream

IoT live streaming is set to sweep the market this year. It is already being used in several industries and for various functions. For instance, IoT streaming is used in healthcare to conduct endoscopic surgical procedures. The same tech is also used in police body cameras to record high-definition videos, even in low light. 

More recently, IoT video streaming has expanded from niche industries to the mainstream consumer market thanks to the introduction of smart home technology. Smart homes enable users to monitor their houses remotely through smart devices such as phones, tablets, and computers.

Now, you can find a variety of IoT video surveillance devices on the market, including pet and baby monitors, security cameras, doorbell cameras, etc. IoT devices and smart homes are growing exponentially in 2022 and beyond. 

AR and VR Will Grow Beyond Social Video Streaming 

Virtual and augmented reality took the world by storm when they were first introduced. Given what they could accomplish, this reaction was expected. However, in recent years, the hype has slowed, and adoption numbers have dropped. 

Augmented reality is still quite popular in social streaming applications like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. However, virtual reality live streaming has been crippled by the inability to offer users high-quality experiences due to the current mobile bandwidth limitations.

But with the widespread adoption of 5G underway, we’ll soon be seeing AR and VR pick up momentum. In 2020 and beyond, you should see the two technologies applied in other areas besides social streaming.

Marketers and businesses will adapt to these changes quickly. Companies will use the technologies to market their services and products and offer specialized customer support remotely. In this case, businesses can send a VR camera kit instead of human personnel to the customer to act as an expert’s assistant on the ground, saving both money and time.

We’re listening.

Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

General FAQs on Video Streaming