2009: Digital Content Protection Market $2 billion

If market analysis would determine the success of digital content protection, the broadcast flag, DVD protections and what have you will flourish over the coming years. According to a report by the market research firm Digital Tech Counseling (DTC) the market for digital consumer media protection will likely generate a swapping 2 billion dollars in 2009, compared to an estimated 928 million dollar this year. And where will these revenues come from? Amongst others a familiar suspect, on trial since yesterday, the broadcast flag:

HDTV and DVR are sweeping digital pay systems internationally, fueling new hardware sales and creating new revenue streams for hardware vendors and system operators. Additionally, newly implemented standards for secure digital broadcast and recording, like the broadcast flag, DTCP and HDCP, are clearing the way for a wave of new growth in digital terrestrial broadcast and digital recording devices.

So, if this market research is correct, the broadcast flag will come into play, protect the revenue streams from incumbent business models and bring a booming industry, feasting on the prevention of users to make (fair) copies. Dystopia for the masses, utopia for the few?

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Related news article
DTC website with Table of contents of their $2995 report
[Update: took out figure error.]