These are exciting times for online video, with the combined targets of the living room and mobile devices signaling the start of something huge. Viva la revolution, as someone may have once said.

The Revolution Begins

In terms of the Web being accessed by computers, online video has made its mark. The likes of YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, and the iPlayer have all been massive hits and proved beyond any doubt that the consumption of digital media is the future.

So it’s now time to ramp the effort up, with the living room the next big target. The ultimate goal must surely be to disable the big TV and movie studios’ abilities to control the marketplace.

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Broadcasters and content owners are slowly but surely coming around to the idea of online video, as long as they remain in control and have a means of making some money from the venture.

ITV and NBC Universal are two such examples of this growing trend.

On-Demand In The U.K.

While Netflix, Hulu, and individual U.S. networks are using the Web in America to gain viewers, the U.K. is enjoying its own boom in online and on-demand video sites.

The BBC iPlayer is massively popular, while Channel 4 (4oD), Channel 5 (Demand Five), ITV (ITV Player), and Sky (Sky Player) all have their own dedicated catchup services.

Then there are the likes of SeeSaw, YouTube, and the MSN Video Player which are acting as third parties to broadcast content from others. All in all, the U.K. has a great mix of options for potential Web TV viewers.

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Facebook is now huge, with 500 million users worldwide. That’s quite an audience just waiting to be tapped into by those willing to do so. Step forward Channel Five, which is making its Demand Five catch-up service available on the social networking site.

Britain On Demand

British broadcasters have taken to on demand video streaming very well. The excellent BBC iPlayer is leading the way, but 4oD, the ITV Player, the Sky Player, and Demand Five aren’t too shabby either.

Then there are the likes of SeeSaw and the MSN Video Player streaming older content from these networks and other copyright owners. Channel Four and Channel Five content is also available to watch on YouTube.

All of this content is, sadly, subject to international copyright restrictions and is therefore only available to view in the U.K. But in the same way people outside of the U.S. can watch Hulu, there are workarounds.

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Facebook now has in excess of 500 million users. If it were a country it would be the third largest in the world.

But how best to keep such a huge userbase up-to-date on the site? With video of course, live streaming video in this case.

Live Streaming Video

Live streaming video is now a big part of the overall online video sector. Sites such as Livestream, Ustream, and Justin.tv offer their users a way of broadcasting live to the Web, in essence allowing everyone to have their own Web TV channel.

Companies and websites are increasingly taking advantage of this medium to reach people, be they customer, users, or readers. TechCrunch TV is one such example, and now Facebook has joined the club with Facebook Live.

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Netflix is committed to a future where streaming video takes precedence over everything else. Which is why it’s investing so heavily in making its ‘Watch Instantly’ service as attractive and compelling as possible.

Netflix Investing In Streaming

Netflix is slowly but surely changing the focus of its business away from DVD rentals-by-mail and towards a streaming video service.

Netflix’ ‘Watch Instantly’ is helping to bring in new customers, with the promise of a streaming service full of recent and classic movies and TV shows persuading many in the U.S. to hand over a monthly subscription fee.

We recently detailed exactly how much money buying content for ‘Watch Instantly’ was costing Netflix. Suffice to say, it isn’t cheap. And Netflix has been at it again this week, tying up a deal with Epix.

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Netflix clearly sees online video streaming as its future, and the future of media distribution as a whole. Which is why it’s upping the money it’s spending on acquiring ‘Watch Instantly’ content, money it’s saving on delivering DVDs by post.

Netflix’ Changing Business

Things are changing for Netflix, partly forced, partly by choice. A business built on the idea of delivering DVDs to customers by mail is now evolving into one built, and growing, on the idea of streaming content to customers via the Internet.

Netflix’ increase in publicizing and populating ‘Watch Instantly’ has seen the number of customers signing up to the service growing, and revenue growing as a result. Obviously. There is, however, a consequence to this: more money being spent on streaming content.

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With YouTube and other online video sites playing ball, and file-sharers being stepped on left, right, and center, the attention is turning towards live streaming sites such as Justin.TV and Ustream.

Live Streaming Piracy

Of all the various types of online video piracy, that which takes place over live streaming services may prove the hardest to combat.

Once a video is uploaded to YouTube and the like it’s there for all to see, and if it’s copyrighted then it’ll be subject to a DMCA takedown. But live streaming piracy only happens while the event in question is being broadcast. Which makes things much more difficult for the companies involved on both sides.

Livestream has had a zero tolerance approach to piracy since March, but the other big streaming services Justin.TV and Ustream haven’t followed suit. And they’re now paying the price for that.

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