• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, October 14, 2005

A day after Apple Computer unveiled its new video iPod, as well as a content download deal with a major studio, Walt Disney Co., the media world appears to be racing forward toward mobile, downloaded and on-demand television. The accelerated pace was marked by several announcements, including MTV Networks $49 million acquisition of broadband programming distributor iFilms, and new research showing that the pace of video program downloads is accelerating online.

That research, released Thursday by comScore Media Metrix, found that 94 million Americans, or about 56 percent of the domestic U.S. Internet population, has viewed a streaming video program online. During the second quarter of 2005, the average consumer viewed 73 minutes of streaming video content per month, a rate comScore analysts said is beginning to influence online and TV business models.

Not surprisingly, comScore is positioning its so-called "Online Video Ratings," as a new form of currency for buying and selling advertising on broadband video programming, striving to become the online equivalent of Nielsen TV ratings. Nielsen Media Research, of course, is the controlling shareholder of comScore rival NetRatings.

Amid the broadband and iPod developments, the TV industry announced an on-demand milestone of its own. Comcast Corp. Thursday said it has served its one billionth on-demand TV program, and is on track to surpass previous projections for 2005. During 2004, Comcast said it served 567 million video-on-demand programs.