March 11 , 2003

ACCUSTREAM RESEARCH ANNUAL REPORT SHOWS TOTAL VIDEO STREAMS UP BY 52.3% TO 3.9 BILLION IN ‘02, BROADBAND STREAM GROWTH AT OVER 84%

Silicon Valley, Streaming media registered double-digit growth in 2002, with total video streams up by 52.3% to over 3.9 billion streams. A full 62.5% of those streams were served at broadband rates, according to an annual market study published by AccuStream iMedia Research.

The report, Streaming Media Growth Analysis and Market Dynamics: 2002 vs. 2001 is an in-depth comparative analysis of the past two years in streaming audio and video, with extensive data by audience type, bit rate, site, network, channel, aggregator and contains 300 pages of market research.

Broadband video streams grew at an annual rate of 84% in 2002, and narrowband streams at 18%, compared to 2001.

Across all sites with video content available, the total number of streams served per unique user per month rose 25% in 2002 to 1.53.

The number of broadband streams served per unique user per month averaged 6.89, with an average length of view of over 2 _ minutes per file accessed. That’s a total of 17 minutes worth of video viewing per unique broadband user per month.

“Broadband users at work and at home are now driving the streaming media industry,” according to AccuStream’s director of research Paul A. Palumbo.

“We’ve been surprised at the adoption rate of streaming video by broadband users, and the fact that narrowband streams continued double-digit growth in 2002.”

“Another factor is availability of quality content at broadband rates from brands like AOL to Real Networks, sports leagues, movie and music sites, and the total number of files increased substantially in 2002.”

Volatility in the Internet radio segment led to a slight contraction of aggregate tuning hours on a monthly basis to 85 million hours.

That segment is populated a few cross-platform media brands such as Clear Channel Worldwide, but is primarily driven by independent operators who have weathered the market shakeout, but not aggressively attempted to grow tuning hours while a revenue base—whether advertising or subscription—remains nascent.

AccuStream iMedia Research publishes the monthly reports iBroadcast Stream Report, iBroadcast Avails Report, iBroadcast Wireless and Mobile Content Report, plus other annual and semi-annual streaming media reports with extensive data and analysis.

Contact: Paul A. Palumbo, ppalumbo@accustreamresearch.com
(831) 393-1953