The public demand for video downloading lags behind the industry’s recent developments, according to new figures from TNS Worldpanel Entertainment.
TNS Worldpanel Entertainment monitors film, music and electronic games purchasing and usage trends of 10,000 demographically representative British individuals, aged 12 to 80.
Of the 10,000 people interviewed every two weeks by TNS Worldpanel Entertainment about their entertainment purchasing behaviour, not one has yet legally downloaded a video.
Just 21% believe that downloading technology will save them money, and with the average price for downloading being £18 compared to £13 for a new release DVD, this would seem to be true.
The research showed that mainstream technology for transferring downloads to a TV is also needed, as only 15%of those surveyed currently use their PC for entertainment purposes. There is also some doubt that technology such as Apple’s Video Ipod will boost the market, with only 10% of people being interested in watching films or TV on the move.
Lucy Burton, manager of TNS Worldpanel Entertainment, said: “Although the number of studios and websites offering legal video downloading in the UK is increasing all the time, we are still some way off this becoming a mainstream way of accessing a film.
“The potential is definitely there, with the number of households with broadband increasing hugely over the past few years, but until the technology becomes fast and convenient enough for consumers to download a wide range of films to watch on their TV on-demand we are unlikely to see video downloading taking off.
“The video industry has done well to wake up to the potential of the market well before it takes off to avoid the situation the music industry found itself in with illegal downloading, but there is some work to be done to make sure it is the next MP3 and not the next 3G.”
Recent research from Nielsen//NetRatings shows that the average Briton online spends £3 a month (£36 per year) on streaming/downloading audio and video content, with the majority of this spend (57%) going on audio content and video content accounting for 43% (see Teens Are Biggest Online Content Spenders).
However, September saw the release of a report from Screen Digest that suggested that 2006 would be a watershed year for digital distribution of movies in Europe using open internet video-on-demand (VOD) technology, with consumer spending on European movie downloading and streaming services accelerating to nearly €690 million by the end of 2010, compared to less than €10 million in 2005 (see 2006 Watershed Year For Movie Downloads).
Related Links
