The Future is On-Demand Entertainment

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On-demand entertainment (OED) enables people to watch, read or listen to nearly anything they want, whenever they choose. Innovators such as Napster, the original file-sharing portal that debuted in 1999 during the height of the dotcom boom, paved the way for the modern OED industry by battling well-funded adversaries over copyright infringement.

In response to consumer demand, Comcast launched its On Demand channel with 740 movies in 2003. By May 2011, customers had accessed 20 billion programs, and were regularly viewing 350 million programs each month. OED is driving viewership because the many positives, including instant access to a huge library of content on the viewer’s schedule, far outweigh the few negatives, such as being dependent upon high-speed Internet. With more than 200 million Americans subscribing to in-home, high-speed Internet services, time-shifted viewing is rapidly becoming a mainstream option.

The OED industry is stirring up disgruntled feelings as sales plummet in the traditional movie, music and gaming sectors. For example, DVD and Blu-ray sales witnessed a loss of $3.3 billion during the past seven years. To combat this problem, on Jan. 10, 2012, Warner Bros. announced it would hold new DVD releases from rental outlets for two months after being released in stores and online. This decision doubles the 28-day delay agreement currently in place with Netflix.

However, studios such as Lions Gate realize they must reach out to the emerging industry if they hope to survive. In November 2011, the Wall Street drama “Margin Call” was simultaneously released in a limited 178 theaters and via online video on demand (VOD). The movie grossed more than $5 million in the theaters, but the $7 per-view online ...

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.... Games can also be embedded in websites.

OToy

Under development since 2006, OToy is a new service that will host high-definition video games and movies as well as computer applications and operating systems on the cloud.

Mashable named cloud gaming one of the hottest social gaming trends to keep an eye on in 2011 because it renders console-quality graphics on slow Internet connections. Additionally, a recent study conducted by The NPD Group noted the current ODE industry is only tapping 5 percent of the 134 million Americans who own VOD-supported devices.

By revolutionizing the way Americans consume media, ODE is not only changing how entertainment is accessed, but it is also drastically altering how advertisers reach consumers. Those who are able to adapt to the changing future of on-demand entertainment will find the most success in the years ahead.

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