Consumers want video downloads to replicate the advertising funded model of TV, according to new research from ICM, commissioned by the British Internet Broadcasting Company (BiBC).
55% of those questioned would prefer to watch advertising and get the content for free rather than pay for content without advertising.
A massive 74% of the 18-24-year-old market said that they would prefer the advertising funded model. The group with the highest likelihood to choose to pay to download to avoid advertising was the 35-44 year group, but this still only accounted for 34% of the sample.
83% of respondents said that they would download movies or other visual media from the internet. But, says ICM, this latest research shows that consumers are getting savvy and are keen to get their content in the most cost effective way, by watching ads in order to access content for free.
In previous research BiBC found that 35% of people were discouraged from buying content via downloading because they felt that it was no cheaper than buying hard copy.
Paul Hague, managing director of BiBC, said: “People now understand the multiple uses of the internet and feel more comfortable to exploit the possibilities. This latest research shows that consumers want advertising funded content and the industry needs to respond to that, we’re already talking to a number of companies keen to get into this space quickly.
“There is a huge potential here for content owners and aggregators to make larger profits through an increased number of downloads, for advertisers to tap into a new captive market and of course the consumer gets what they want for free. Everyone wins, except the companies that don’t jump on the bandwagon fast enough.”
Recent research from the European Interactive Advertising Association showed that online is increasingly attracting big spenders, with advertisers forecasting that online will represent a growing share of their overall media budgets over the next two years, especially within the FMCG and Entertainment sectors (see Online Becoming Increasingly Important To Advertisers).
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