A new survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has suggested that usage of online content viewing methods such as TV-on-demand is now actually ahead of traditional TV mediums.

The study, which only comprised a rather small number (500 people), had revealed that the users surveyed watched an average of 12 hours of content per week online, compared to just 9 hours of network or cable.

 

Another statistic raised from the study announced that almost three times’ more people have been accessing movie content from online sources as opposed to digital pay TV’s on-demand service. The online section included free content, and subscription-based purchases. However, the opposite seemed to be true for TV shows, with digital connected tv sets leading the way for on-demand content for series.

The research was bad news for providers of DVD and Blu-ray discs, with the results claiming that digital is now the preferred way to view film content, as proven by a decline in purchase or rental of physical media, alongside a higher hour average of digital content viewing.

Online movie piracy could also be another new fear in the media industry, with growing numbers claiming free and unauthorised content on the web, with over 80% of those surveyed (who participated in such activity), showing no remorse for their actions.

Meanwhile, 36% stated that their reason for online piracy was to prevent content owners and studios from making money off of them, with high prices seen as a big persuasion to pirate films for free (a majority of users admitted they would stop if rental prices were between $1-$3 for a 30-day window).

With the survey providing a potentially chilling insight into the development of piracy, are PwC on to something, or was the small figure of participants a detriment to the plausibility of the study?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 at 3:15 pm and is filed under catch up tv, Internet TV Hardware, Internet TV news, Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.