How Consumers Buy, Consume, and Manage Digital Content

US Survey Results

Research Report

The consumer electronics industry continues to evolve, engendering new features such as Internet connectivity, and expanding the opportunities for new services and business models. End-user engagement in kind must adapt and change to better suit the shifting expectations of consumers. This study discusses several surveys conducted by ABI Research over the course of the past three years in an effort to understand these transitions better.

Interest in and consumption of online media continues to grow in strength and while the pay-TV operators have not seen a material impact on their subscriber bases yet, early indicators suggest there is competition on the horizon. While there does not appear to be any threat of a mass migration away from more traditional pay services, there are certainly consumers who are at the very least willing to entertain the idea of cutting the cord, as it were: 13% of respondents who owned a TV said they would consider cancelling their pay-TV service for an alternative such as OTA broadcasts and online media. While the younger demographics still comprise the groups most likely to consume digital media, there has been a significant growth amongst older consumers as well. The computer remains the most desired device to bring content from the Internet to the TV, but Internet-connected TVs also command strong interest.

Table of Contents

  • 1. Executive Summary
    • 1.1. Overview of Survey
  • 2. Forward: Change is All Around, but Some Things Remain the Same
    • 2.1. Media is Evolving
  • 3. Survey Demographics
    • 3.1. Demographics (Age)
    • 3.2. Demographics (Gender)
    • 3.3. Demographics (Household Size)
      • 3.3.1. Households with Children (2010 Survey)
    • 3.4. Demographics (Occupation, Education, and Household Income)
    • 3.5. Ethnicity
  • 4. Devices in the Home
    • 4.1. Consumer Electronic Devices
    • 4.2. Computing Devices and Home Networks
      • 4.2.1. Home Networks
  • 5. Connectivity and Content
    • 5.1. Content and the Consumer
      • 5.1.1. Premium Content
      • 5.1.2. Physical Media (Video)
  • 6. Acronyms
  • Executive Brief: Top-Line Forecast
  • Executive Brief: Drivers
  • Executive Brief: Inhibitors
  • Executive Brief: Summary and Strategic Recommendations

Tables

  1. Where Respondents Store Digital Photos, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=904)
  2. Where Respondents Store Digital Music, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=712)
  3. Where Respondents Store Digital Video, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=454)

Charts

  1. Would you consider cancelling your pay-TV service and only receiving video content from the Internet, over-the-air/terrestrial and/or using video rental services?
  2. Respondents' Age, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005) 2008 Survey (n=1,002)
  3. Respondents' Gender, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005)
  4. Respondents' Gender, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005) 2008 Survey (n=1,002)
  5. Respondents' Household Size, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005)
  6. Respondents' Household Size, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005) 2008 Survey (n=1,002)
  7. Respondents' Households with Children, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005)
  8. Respondents' Occupation, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005) 2008 Survey (n=1,002)
  9. Respondents' Education, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005) 2008 Survey (n=1,002)
  10. Respondents' Household Income, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005) 2008 Survey (n=1,002)
  11. Respondents' Ethnicity, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005) 2008 Survey (n=1,002)
  12. Household Consumer Electronics, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005) 2008 Survey (n=1,002)
  13. Number of Windows Desktop PCs in Home, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005) 2008 Survey (n=1,002)
  14. Number of Windows Laptop PCs in Home, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005) 2008 Survey (n=1,002)
  15. Number of Apple Desktop Computers in Home, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005) 2008 Survey (n=1,002)
  16. Number of Apple Laptop Computers in Home, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005) 2008 Survey (n=1,002)
  17. Households with at Least One Desktop Computer, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005)
  18. Households with at Least One Laptop Computer, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005)
  19. Respondent Households with Home Networks, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005) 2008 Survey (n=1,002)
  20. Respondent Household Network Technology, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=640) 2008 Survey (n=513)
  21. Wireless Technology in Respondent Household, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=586) 2008 Survey (n=407)
  22. Use PC or Laptop at the Same Time/In the Same Room in Which Respondents Watch TV, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=992) 2008 Survey (n=975)
  23. Watch TV and Surf the Internet, Chat or Do Email at the Same Time, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=992) 2008 Survey (n=975)
  24. Interest in Watching Video from the Internet or Computer on the TV, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=640) 2008 Survey (n=513)
  25. Devices Connected to the Home Network, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=640) 2008 Survey (n=513)
  26. Video Game Consoles in the Household and Connectivity, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005 total game ownership and n=640 game console connectivity))
  27. How Home Network Used, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=640) 2008 Survey (n=513)
  28. Origins of Audio/Video Viewed Over a Home Network, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=282) 2008 Survey (n=82)
  29. Using Streaming Music and Video Service Over the Home Network, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=282)
  30. Video Content Over Connected Game Consoles, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=233)
  31. Preferred Main Device to Navigate and Deliver Internet Content, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=735) 2008 Survey (n=685)
  32. How Respondents Have Connected Internet TV, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=238)
  33. Reasons for Not Connecting Internet-Ready TV, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=118)
  34. Interest and Timeframe for Purchasing an Internet Connected Television, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=439)
  35. Reasons for No Interest in Purchasing an Internet-Ready TV, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=156)
  36. Types of Digital Content Stored, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005)
  37. Willingness to Drop Pay-TV Service, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=989)
  38. Where Respondents Viewed Internet Content, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005)
  39. How Respondents View Internet Video, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005)
  40. Frequency of Viewing Full Length Movies or TV Shows from the Internet, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=620)
  41. Frequency of Catching Up on TV Shows from the Internet, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=620)
  42. Interest in Watching Video on the TV, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005)
  43. Frequency of Renting DVDs, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005) 2008 Survey (n=1,002)
  44. Frequency of Renting DVDs, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005)
  45. Frequency of Renting Blu-rays, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005)
  46. Frequency of Renting Movies from Kiosks, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=813)
  47. Frequency of Renting Movies from Retail Outlets, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=813)
  48. Frequency of Renting Movies from Public Facilities, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=813)
  49. Frequency of Renting Movies from Subscription Service, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=813)
  50. Frequency of Renting Movies from Other Source, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005) 2008 Survey (n=1,002)
  51. Frequency of Using VoD Services from TV Provider, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=894)
  52. Frequency of Purchasing DVDs, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005) 2008 Survey (n=1,002)
  53. Frequency of Purchasing Blu-ray Discs, US Market, 2010 Survey (n=1,005)