Video iTunes Triggered Online Video Big Bang

ABI: The momentum Apple created when it announced last year that it would sell videos online through iTunes continues into 2006. While the push to online video had started well before the launch of the video iPod (demonstrated by skyrocketing advertising rates for broadband video impressions throughout 2005, and the launches of various online channels by large content companies) the online video big bang started with Apple's announcement and continued through the Consumer Electronics Show. At this year's CES, gadgets took a backseat to the bevy of announcements by large online and content players. The flood of online content announcements from Google, Yahoo and others shows that after years of hesitation from the larger media players, the market for premium content online is finally beginning to take shape. New offerings include those from Starz and Google. Nearly two years after announcing its Starz Ticket on Real, Starz launched its own premium movie subscription plan as Vongo, a $10 a month all-you-can-eat video download service. With Vongo, Starz is partnering with Microsoft, using WMV and Windows DRM to deliver the content, which will be available on Windows MCE PCs and Windows Portable Media Center devices. Google announced its premium video download service, Google Video Store. The new service uses Google's own video player and will offer content from partners such as CBS and the NBA.

Video iTunes Triggered Online Video Big Bang Publ 20060123