Digital World News

Most American consumers are satisfied with existing options for watching television and listening to music according to recent research from Ipsos.


The research firm found that online American consumers are generally cautious when it comes to trying out new ways to access digital content and most do not envision emerging options for accessing audio and video as replacing traditional options anytime soon.

The Ipsos survey found that, despite the hype surrounding ways to download music and television shows, only a minority of Americans are open to just-emerging ways of accessing digital video content via the Internet.

To learn more about how consumers felt, Ipsos presented survey respondents with a series of entertainment consumption methods and asked them whether they expect to do this more often, about the same amount, or less often a year from now.


For example, when asked about watching television only 6% said they would likely be watching more television on the internet this time next year. A significant percentage but only one-third the number of people who said they would be more likely to watch television the old fashioned way on live-tv! Three percent said they would be more likely to watch a sports games, events, or highlights on a mobile handheld device (e.g., iPod, cell phone)compared to five times that number (16%) who said they would be more likely to watching on live TV.


When it came to listening music, 25% said they'd be listening to more CD's next year versus 17% who said they'd be listening to more music on the internet.

“It’s pretty clear to us that most consumers lean toward the path of least resistance – involving the smallest amount of learning and behavior change,” says Todd Board, SVP of Ipsos Insight’s Technology & Communications practice. “Our findings also suggest that early experiences with content obtained from the Internet and consumed on portable devices has not been all that users had hoped for.”


Respondents were asked also asked about how seriously they would consider each of five hypothetical models for consuming video content – all involving Internet content access, and varying in terms of cost, duplication rights, and presence of advertising. About 10 percent of online American consumers said they are open to each of the five models.


“Among potential early adopters for web-driven video content, we already see differences in the priority placed on cost, absence of ads, and ability to make limited copies.” The findings also indicate a leaning toward several of the models among parents, perhaps because fewer trips to the video store might be welcome. Owners of portable MP3 players, DVRs (e.g., TiVo), and media hubs reported higher-than-average interest in most of the models.

The study suggests that a rapid shift from traditional ways of consuming media is not on the immediate horizon and that the change to an era where consumers will be consuming most of their media from the internet and on handheld devices is still a long way away. The research firm characterized the shift as more evolution than revolution.

Source From Digital World News Blog at http://digitalworldnews.blogspirit.com/