It seems that in households across America, the ubiquitous question of "What's on TV?" is ever so slowly being replaced by "What's on the Web?" The trend is in its infancy, but for those who are successful in cultivating and exploiting online video, the payoffs could be substantial. The usual suspects are involved in the race, but some have better strategies than others.
Video-rich websites see video traffic double every six to eight months, USA Today recently reported. The revenue to be had is still relatively small, but things aren't likely to stay that way for long. Gross billings from streaming video ads are expected to be $321 million in 2005, up 75% over 2004. Next year, the forecast is for gross billings to grow another 41.7% to $455 million, according to Research and Markets. Giants like General Motors
But not every company is pursuing the same strategy to capture the new revenue. Google
Yahoo!
The race to capture video revenue is still up in the air. But for now, at least, it seems likely to be a two-horse race between Yahoo! and AOL.
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Fool contributor Brian Gorman is a freelance writer in Chicago. He does not own shares of any companies mentioned in this article.