Analysts: iPlayer 'kick-started online TV'

Media analysis firm Screen Digest has significantly upped its expectations of online television in the UK after the BBC's iPlayer gave the sector a kick-start.

There will now be 1.5bn views of free internet broadcasts this year and 2.8bn by 2012, analysts believe. Last year 38% of free online viewing in the UK was through bbc.co.uk, despite the iPlayer only officially launching at Christmas.

Screen Digest also took the opportunity to highlight commercial broadcasters' failure to make such a mark in online television.

Its report said predictions of revenue from UK free-to-view internet TV "remain unchanged, going from £19m in 2007 to £98m in 2012. This is due to the dominance of the BBC's services, and lack of clear strategies from commercial broadcasters."

Analysts highlighted the importance of the iPlayer's Flash-based streaming function which does not require users to download a specific application. They compared it to the "proprietary application download environment" of Channel 4's 4oD.

The report noted the streaming iPlayer can be used on operating systems other than Windows. In future, said Screen Digest, it should encourage others to embed shows on their own websites and blogs, bringing even faster growth.

It said: "The democratisation of access to BBC catch-up services is in stark contrast to services offered by ITV.com and 4oD, which are still only accessible to UK broadband homes that have a Windows PC."

Senior analyst Arash Amel said the firm thought the change brought about by the iPlayer could lead commercial rivals and "new entrants" such as Bebo, MySpace, YouTube and Joost to up their game.

"It is expected that the success of the BBC's iPlayer open web streaming model, and future 'viral syndication' strategies, will encourage UK commercial broadcasters to enter a long-term reassessment of how they deliver programming to users," he said.