Ustream, Inc., the leading video technology platform for live business communications, announced today that it has surpassed 7 million live video streams for the first half of 2013, marking a record half for the six-year-old company. Corporate sales of its flagship live video service, Pro Broadcasting, experienced massive growth during the first half of 2013. Direct sales to enterprise customers grew more than 600 percent compared to the same period in 2012, while e-commerce adoption of Ustream’s live streaming video services to small businesses more than doubled during the year’s first half, from 2,000 to 4,000 customers.
With this explosive growth, the company is on pace to hit several notable milestones this year, including 2 billion total viewer-hours[1] by the end of this fall and 30 million global registered users by year end.
“Sales of our Pro Broadcasting software as a service (SaaS) offering have grown far faster this year than we ever imagined,” says Brad Hunstable, CEO and founder of Ustream. “Increasing our enterprise broadcast sales by 600 percent over the past year reflects not only the growth in live video communications, but also our ability to rapidly scale up operations and effectively execute our business plans.”
Organizations of all sizes and in all parts of the globe are realizing the potential of live video communications to multiply audiences and power their growth in new and innovative ways. As a result, Ustream customers are now streaming 40,000 live broadcasts daily – from webinars to product launches, to press conferences and internal webcasts. This accelerating growth has vaulted the company close to the 2 billion mark in cumulative viewer-hours.
Other Ustream milestones from the first half of 2013 include:
• 24 million registered users globally – up 48 percent in the past 12 months.
• 30 million registered users expected by the end of 2013.
• Rapid international growth, driven in part by the rising popularity of citizen journalism during major worldwide events. Thus far this year, Ustream’s international users have increased 110 percent.
• In February, Ustream powered Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA)’s live press conference unveiling the new PlayStation 4 game console, which will include integrated Ustream video capabilities, allowing users to stream live game play. Over 8 million viewers watched the live event, which has since garnered 16 million total views. During the live event, the peak hit 1 million simultaneous viewers, the largest concurrent viewership of an Internet broadcast.
• In June, Ustream streamed the popular Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival free of charge, attracting more than 11 million viewers throughout the festival.
• Since January 1, Ustream has carried more than 1 million religious broadcasts. Religious broadcasting, one of the company’s largest vertical markets, is originating around the globe and has been categorized as 69 percent Christian, 26 percent general, 6 percent Catholic, 3 percent Hindu, 1 percent Buddhist and 1 percent Jewish.
“We’re really looking forward to the second half of 2013,” says Ustream’s Hunstable. “With worldwide audiences demonstrating an almost insatiable appetite for live video programming, Ustream is ideally positioned to satisfy their growing demand. Consumers were our first adopters and businesses have followed suit, realizing the potential to reach these engaged audiences. Expect to see more milestones from us in coming months.”