Only 10% of US adult broadband users have used an online download service either to rent or purchase movies, and most of them do so infrequently, according to new research from The Diffusion Group (TDG).
“Online movie services have to date failed to gain a critical mass of users,” said Michael Greeson, president of TDG and author of the new report.
“Even Steve Jobs recently noted that Apple, among others, has failed to figure out what combination of features will prove sufficiently compelling to consumers.”
Greeson said that the challenge is not only to increase familiarity with online movie download (OMD) services, but to make sure that when consumers do visit an OMD site that they find high-quality content and a set of compelling features free from the complexities and hassles of traditional web media sites.
Greeson added: “Watching video on the TV is a well-established form of media behaviour engrained in consumer behaviour.
“Watching full-length movies on the PC or on a mobile device, however, requires a paradigm shift of sorts, one that the vast majority of consumers are unwilling to accept.
“Asking consumers to view full-length movies on a PC monitor is a radically different experience than asking them to view shorter-form content such as TV shows or user-generated video, said TDG.
“Today’s OMD services are finally realizing the truth of this statement and working to push their content to the TV, but until they deliver the right combination of features, even a TV-based OMD service may appear to be a poor alternative when compared to emerging cable VOD services or rental services from Blockbuster or Netflix.”
A recent report from comScore revealed that US internet users watched more than 10 billion videos online during December, representing the single heaviest month for online video consumption since it began its tracking service (see US Users Watched Over 10bn Videos Online In December).
Google Sites once again ranked as the top US video property, with 3.3 billion videos viewed (32.6% share of videos), gaining 1.3 share points versus the previous month.
Meanwhile, a report from Solutions Research Group found that nearly 80 million Americans (43% of the online population) have watched one of their favourite TV shows on the internet, up from 25% a year previously (see 20% Of Americans Watch TV Online On Weekly Basis).
A full 20% of the American online population said that they watch TV on the web on a weekly basis, ahead of the 14% who say that they use cable video-on-demand (VoD) offerings.
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