2008 was a pretty good year for online video, there was good growth, interesting experiments, some crazy creators really broke out, the emergence of live video, and overall a lot of positive buzz throughout the emerging space.
I'm going to go out on a limb and post my 2009 predictions for online video:
1. Videos continue to spread throughout the social web via embeds and syndication deals, making content even more fragmented.
2. Some innovative creators with good shows start getting sponsorship dollars.
3. Shows will get more interactive, so rather than watching a new show once/week with nothing in between there will be things happening on a daily basis. Much like what The Resistance has done with theirs.
4. Online video will have the strongest ad growth numbers in comparison to other ad formats i.e. search, social networks, etc. I know this is a pretty safe prediction but worth mentioning regardless.
5. Hulu will get to the number 2 spot behind only YouTube in terms of monthly unique viewers.
6. Increased collaboration will lead to more quality content, and raise the bar for video creators and producers. Human resources will become more available as the more jobs are lost, and creators will be empowered to form their own virtual studios to openly share the recognition and ad revenues with others.
7. CDN bandwidth will get more affordable as the space further consolidates and matures.
8. Mobile video really starts to take off thanks to cool new iPhone apps that allow viewers to discover content they didn't before know existed.
9. Online video advertising is expected to grow to 45% next year, I say the figure will be more around 30%-40%, but great nonetheless.
Do you have any of your own predictions? Feel free to share them below.
