Business
Porn on the Web means cash - Report
If anyone was in any doubt that porn is big business -- think again. Analyst firm Datamonitor has confirmed that adult material on the Web is raking it in.
In a report, Datamonitor estimates the online content market was worth $1.4bn (£0.85bn) in 1998 with adult content accounting for 69 percent of this. That means just under $1bn was spent on US and European pornography last year, either via subscription or pay on demand. The figures do not include e-commerce or advertising revenues.
While porn may be leading the way in creating revenue for the Internet, online gaming and paid-for news are not far behind and analysts believe both will generate healthy revenues by 2003. Online sport and music content will be boosted by pay per view broadcasting events Datamonitor predicts.
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