Unique iTunes users will exceed RealPlayer users by the first half of 2007, according to projections by Website Optimization.
Users of iTunes grew by 47.5% over the past year, while the other streaming media players had single-digit growth.
At current growth rates iTunes users will exceed RealPlayer users by the second quarter of 2007:
Over the past year, the number of unique users of Apple’s iTunes player grew by 47.5%. Over the same time period, RealPlayer users grew by 9.1%, QuickTime by 8.7%, and Windows Media Player grew by 2.0% according to data provided by Nielsen//NetRatings (see Table 1). At current growth rates, iTunes should pass RealPlayer in unique users by the second quarter of 2007. Apple should be whistling a happy tune this year. While iTunes continues to show stong double-digit growth rates, Windows Media Player growth appeared to slow over the past year.
More info, including broadband growth trends in the US and Europe, here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “RadDoc” for the heads up.]
iTunes is based on QuickTime. If you’re watching or listening to media with iTunes, you’re simply using QuickTime with the iTunes UI. In the table above, add iTunes and QuickTime together and you’ll see that QuickTime use surpassed RealPlayer use in late 2005. Not to mention that RealPlayer is pure evil controlled by a nasty donut-eating troll.
These Nielsen//NetRatings QuickTime numbers always look strange to us, perhaps because Apple, on June 6, 2005, stated that “nearly a billion copies” of QuickTime have been downloaded all-time. And, the last time we checked, QuickTime was part of the iTunes installation under Windows, so do the math.
Regardless, by whatever measure, QuickTime use is obviously rising rapidly and those media outlets that insist on streaming in the limited choice of either Windows Media or Real need to rethink their delivery choices. Why would any company that offers online video provide content playable in the third place player and not the second place player that’s growing more rapidly than all others?
Related article:
Apple’s QuickTime-based iTunes shows massive growth, to pass RealPlayer soon – March 16, 2006
@..l.
You are spot on. Apple has time and again shown it’s willingness to work with others in reselling Apple products and time and again it gets burned. We’re about to see this again with the iPhone – Do you honestly think that when you walk into any cell phone shop that sells Cingular service that they’re going to cheerfully walk you over to the iPhone display – I’ll be anyone an iPhone that the answer is no.
Apple comes out with a great product, software hardware, decides to share it with non-Apple resellers, and the first thing that happens is that MS sends one of it’s thugs to that reseller and sets them straight, that company, through FUD or downright ignorance, then proceeds to steer cumstomers away from the Apple product, its weird buts its true, and there is plenty of real history to back up my claim. I cannot think of a single instance where Apple was able to trust a reseller with its product(s), Cingular will be no different. I hope that Apple continues to try and distribute its iTunes/QT products on other platforms, but anything where real money is at stake I wouldn’t be even half as trusting as Apple has bee.
Perfect time to open up the DRM and let everyone share in Apple’s success.
Ha suck my….
Air america is Communist tripe, get over it. They’re totally irrelevant and useless to the world.
“who listens to streamed stuff from itunes though? Surely it’s mostly downloaded stuff?“
You know that thing called Radio in iTunes with hundreds of stations? That’s my radio now. Free, no commercials. Some stations are so good I’ve donated money to them, like SomaFM and KEXP.
I can’t stand commercial FM radio anymore, and if an online station has an MP3 feed, as many do now, it goes into my iTunes playlist of Internet radio stations. In some cases, it’s actually better to listen to a local station over the Internet, for example if I am working inside a windowless office where you can’t get radio reception.
I love listening to streams in iTunes. iTunes is the best radio I’ve ever had.
Radio and Movie previews on iTunes. Apple’s movie previews site is the internet’s biggest.
As for including iTunes with every Dell, HP et cetera, you forget one thing.
Apple would have to pay the OEM’s for including the free iTunes with every computer.
Others who pay put a crippled version of their player on new computers and get that payment money back in upgrade purchases.
You don’t really want Apple to play that evil crippleware game, do you?
I wish Apple would combine QuickTime’s video playback capabilities in iTunes and made it a full competitor to Windows Media Player. I and many, MANY people haven’t had a day where we could view full-screen movies in iTunes without choppy playback (and it’s not my hardware). QT on the other hand is flawless.
You made your point exactly… only a total LOSER like Rob Glaser would agree to fund a totally LOSER enterprise like Air America…
Gee I always thought Air America was a comdey movie w/ Mel Gibson & Robert Downey Jr….
“Gee I always thought Air America was a comdey movie w/ Mel Gibson & Robert Downey Jr….”
Air America Radio is a so-called talk radio liberal station for those people who want an alternative to Fox News & Rush Limbaugh. Listen for yourself. If you don’t want to stream it, you can hear it on AM radio or XM satellite. Or as a paid Podcast, like I do.
Or don’t.
Just because the station has financial problems doesn’t mean that the programming isn’t worthwhile.
@ Wod
Yes it does. If they lose their audience they lose their advertisers who support the show thus they resort to begging for donations and stealing from the Boys and Girls Club. They lost their audience for a reason: the audience didn’t think the programing was worthwhile! Rush Limbuagh and the rest of the New Media have never beged for or recived donations from big-wig CEOs. The audience found Rush worthwhile.
Spock:
By that logic, Star Trek must have been a bad show. If you recall, apparently the audience didn’t find the original show worthwhile, and because of low ratings, it was cancelled after three seasons. So are you saying that proves the show wasn’t any good? (It was only in syndication that it really started to get popular, and as a result, you “Spock” can exist today)
Also note that Air America hasn’t lost its audience as you say, it is still on the air.
Ok you just changed the subject. Star Trek is entertainment. It has very little to do with politics. Its Science Fiction. Air America is voiceing a ideology that a lot of people disagree with to the point where they hardly have a audience. At least Star Trek shut down for over a decade to rethink itself. I find that a show that has a ridiculously small audience AND(make sure you read the AND part) has resort to disgracful tacits to stay running to be not worthwhile.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_America-Gloria_Wise_loan_controversy
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/003117.htm
Oh and by the way Wod… Live Long And Prosper.
Mr. Spock:
I didn’t change the subject, we were talking about Popularity VS Quality. I said that just because a network is struggling financially, doesn’t mean that the programming isn’t worthwhile-you claim that it does- I came up with an example of a show (Star Trek) that wasn’t popular at first, but then ultimately became revered by generations of pointy-eared Vulcans like yourself!
I followed your links-interesting reading. No doubt there has been some shady financial dealings going on there at Air America. (For plenty more on that, watch the HBO documentary: “Left Of The Dial”.) The talk show hosts on the station joke about this on a regular basis, they even have comedy skits about their checks bouncing, about taking part-time jobs in order to help pay their rent, etc. So why should that change the value of their actual show content?
And of course, if you are going to try to discredit AAR for having a small audience, well, I just have to say, you are a Mac user, aren’t you? (This is MacDailyNews!)
I agree now. I let my human half take control of my emotions. I did’nt allow time to consider the broader consequences my theory would have. Anyway you sound just like Dr. Mccoy.
LLaP,
And another thing that you didn’t consider is…what? You agree?
That is not..logical..(sound of galaxies crashing in background)
So it can happen! LL&P! Well done Mr. Spock!