Morethan 100 million homes worldwide now buy on-demand films, according to a newreport.

InformaMedia Group's On-Demand TV - ThirdEdition forecasts that this number will triple to 327 million homes by2010, or about a third of the world's total TV households.

Thesehomes will generate revenues of $12bn. This compares with 91 million homes and$3.7bn movie revenues for 2003.

The report also says that more traditional methods of delivery -pay-per-view for sports and near-video-on-demand for staggered movie screenings- via digital cable and DTH are set to dominate the on-demand sector for thenext five years. From then, true VOD, which sees subscribers purchase movies orevents when they want, will come into the fore. True VOD will be delivered viacable, DSL and even newer systems such as fibre-to-the-home and powerline TV.

Simon Murray, editor of thereport, said: "We are now experiencing the second wave of on-demand TVenthusiasm, following the hyperbole created in 2000/01 that ended abruptly withthe recession."

North America and Europe will each account for about 43% of globalon-demand revenues by 2010. In 2004, North America will take half the revenuesand account for half the VOD/NVOD households.

Asia Pacific will have 116 million on-demand homes by 2010 (as marketleader having overtaken North America in 2010), or 35% of the total, but willaccount for only 11% of the global movie revenues. The U.S. alone will have 100million on-demand homes by 2010, up from 44 million at the end of 2003.