Consumers Give Low Marks to Video Downloading

By NEWS RELEASE | August 9th, 2007 (0) Comments

A new survey from market research firm Parks Associates has found that few consumers in the U.S. are satisfied with the videos they download from the Internet. Just 16% say the selection of videos available online is good, and only 13% say video downloads are sold at a reasonable price. Most tellingly, fewer than one in five consumers downloading video say they plan to download videos again in the future.

Consumers generally download video from one of two sources: peer-to-peer networks that offer unauthorized copies of TV programs and films, or licensed online services like iTunes. Low satisfaction levels might be expected for consumers using unlicensed sources because their quality and reliability are generally low—a consequence of being an unlicensed service. Yet even consumers who exclusively use legitimate services are unhappy with the experience (see chart).

“People don’t see a reason to use video downloading services,” said John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates. “Sure, it saves a trip to the video store, but it takes longer, looks worse, and you end up watching it on a 17” screen. No wonder consumers are dissatisfied with the experience.” He noted that niche markets will emerge, but mainstream consumers will remain lukewarm about the video download experience. Good news for DVD makers, perhaps, but certainly not the feedback that online distributors like Apple are hoping to hear.

Global Digital Living™ II is a 13-country survey of international technology trends that included more than 13,000 respondents. For more information on this project, visit www.parksassociates.com.

For more market research data, visit Parks Associates’ Fast Facts site www.parksassociates.com/fastfacts.

About Parks Associates
Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions.

The company’s expertise includes new media, digital entertainment and gaming, home networks, Internet and television services, digital health, mobile applications and services, consumer electronics, and home control systems and security.

Each year, Parks Associates co-hosts executive thought leadership conferences CONNECTIONS™ and CONNECTIONS™ Europe in partnership with the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA®). In addition, Parks Associates produces the online publication Industry Insights in conjunction with the CONNECTIONS™ Conference series.

Follow @eHomeUpgrade