China's Internet video audience will nearly double this year to 63 million, and it members will pay 400 million yuan (US$50 million) to watch sports, TV series and movies online, according to an industry report.

By 2010, consumers spending for online entertainment will more than double to over 950 million yuan. Even with such robust growth, however, that figure will account for only a portion of the sector's total revenue as more companies will want to advertise through video platforms, the report predicted.

The total market is expected to generate 3.4 billion yuan in sales by 2010, of which more than 70 percent will come from advertising. The online video market will enter a rapid growth period in the next three years along with the expansion of broadband Internet coverage, while the audience will demand more interactive content.

The 63 million viewers this year, mostly age 22 to 30, account for 47 percent of the country's total Internet population, up from last year's 29 percent. The ratio is expected to reach 78 percent in 2010. The industry attracted 100 million yuan this year from advertisers promoting their products.

But so far, no video providers have profited from the business, and there's no dominant player in the market, although telecom operators and television companies have also joined the competitive fray. In addition, sites such as those that provide peer-to-peer video sharing are facing challenges with intellectual property rights issues.

The top performer was mofile.com, which had 17.56 million viewers in October.

Source:佚名