Digital distribution of content is growing rapidly across the globe, driven by continued technological enhancements and content industry support.
However, key to its long term success will be the development of strong consumer propositions and business models that secure sustainable revenue streams, according to research firm Understanding & Solutions.
“Looking at the marketplace, broadcast pay TV currently accounts for close to 50% of annual consumer expenditure on entertainment,” says Jim Bottoms, co-managing director at Understanding & Solutions.
“However, into the next decade, online will become a major means of distribution, and recent industry activities and consumer take-up are starting to lay the foundations for these revenue streams,” he added.
“Up until recently, most consumers in Europe accessed video content either on DVD or watched traditional linear TV,” continued Bottoms.
“Yet things have changed, with a raft of digital platforms and the rise of on-demand content. But a drawback of online VoD services is that most people want to watch movies on their TV and not their PCs; to date there has been no straightforward, mass market method of achieving this.”
Accenture recently published its inaugural Global Broadcast Consumer Survey, which found that consumers are more loyal to programmes than TV channels (see Ofcom Plans New Public Service Channel To Rival BBC).
Although television remains the predominant mass communications device worldwide, with 97% of respondents watching TV in a typical week, consumption patterns vary based on a number of factors including geography, age and socioeconomic status.
A recent report from eMarketer forecast that 154 million people in the US will download or stream video content on the internet at least once a month in 2008 (see Online Video A Big Hit In US).
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