Broadband's broadening footprint, coupled with a more appealing library of premium content, will help the subscription video streaming services market grow from $991 million this year to more than $4.5 billion by 2007, predicted In-Stat/MDR.

In-Stat, a sister company of CED magazine, said Asia, at $1.2 billion, will represent the largest market by '07.

In-Stat attributed the coming explosion to three primary factors: broadband's move into the mainstream, more appealing premium video content from the likes of RealNetworks, MSN, AOL and Yahoo!, and stronger business bonds between the pipe and content suppliers.

"The world of online content is undergoing a three-way metamorphosis, creating opportunities for major media companies and large service providers to finally get their fingers into the Internet revenue pie," said Gerry Kaufhold, an In-Stat principal analyst, in a statement.

The research firm's report ("Consumer Oriented Subscription Video Services Over IP Networks) also predicted that four content categories will lead the subscription charge: sports-related services, movie and TV-related sites, "general interest" sites, and video communications services.