What’s worth a mere 35 billion dollars? It could very well be the GNP of a small nation off the coast of the Galapagos or it could be the anticipated revenues of a market we all know and love. Luckily for me, since I’m more familiar with the market than with Galapagos geography, it’s global online TV and video revenues that will take over the world by 2018.

Let’s just say that the $34.99 billion “menu” is what the media has been calling “record breaking,” and this is because of the huge increase in people watch online TV and video in the privacy of their homes. In less than five years, an expected 520 million homes in 40 different countries will watch online TV and video. Big business? You betcha’. It’s a haven for advertisers and it’s a big boon for mobile device makers too. It’s the pods, the pads, and the phones that will be replacing the big screen in our living rooms.

All these facts and figures are from the recent “Online TV and Video Forecasts” report from Digital TV Research. It’s a radical look at our industry and how it’s bubbled over and progressed in just the last few years: a massive increase from the $3.98 billion in 2010 and $15.94 billion expected by end 2013. Then comes the boom and we’re ready for it. Much of the growth, says the report, is that key players are not only expanding, they’re all partnering with each other, becoming simply big, rich and powerful – all at once.

It’s mostly the OTT (Over The Top) market sector that pulling its weight – its heavy weight. People are paying for subscriptions and demanding their money’s worth. Netflix and the like, reign supreme but they’ve also opened up new avenues for digital TV broadcasts on the big (living room) screen and the small (anything mobile) screen. So with revenues in the billions and audiences in the hundreds of millions, the market’s pretty much proven that TV is here to stay. It’s a money maker for anyone who’s willing to jump in and it’s a medium that will be a mainstay in our daily lives – forever and ever. Till death do us part. Amen.