Internet TV will reach 60% screen share in 2014

Internet TV will reach 60% screen share in 2014, according to a Bain study. This consultancy believes that the greatest change in transmedia experiences will come from audiovisual content.

The study “Connected devices and services: Reinventing content” carried out by Bain among more than 3,000 users in Europe, the United States and Asia on the penetration of the new generation of Internet connections, reveals that consumers show great and growing interest in the new experiences that information and entertainment technologies can bring them.
This research highlights that enthusiasm expressed by users may not translate into immediate business benefits if innovative ways of experiencing entertainment content are not developed.

Patrick Behar, director of Bain's Media and Entertainment Department in Europe and author of the study, said that “the media must adopt a more aggressive stance in developing and diversifying strategies aimed at unlocking consumer spending.” Bain believes that the greatest change in transmedia experiences will come from audiovisual content. Half of survey participants in the United Kingdom and the United States intend to increasingly rely on Web search engines to find the content they want, while a third of them plan to use their network of contacts and friends to make their choice of must-see entertainment programs. The latest data indicates that up to 45% of Chinese and Indian consumers, despite the fact that the lack of infrastructure will limit their ability to view online content (especially in India), believe that they will use these search engines to download audiovisual entertainment.

According to this study, fiction content is especially favorable to this transition, and, due to the increase in Internet connectivity, the development of short formats born on the Web could accelerate and increase. Web series, both amateur and professional, have managed to attract a considerable but still limited number of online viewers. Between 30 and 45% of those surveyed in Western countries have expressed interest in this type of entertainment format, although two thirds of them are not satisfied with the fact that the content is paid for. On the contrary, three quarters of respondents in China or India have expressed interest in series followed by the Web.

Contents via Web

“The majority of users prefer Web content over traditional television channels,” says Laurent Colombani, Director of Media and Entertainment at Bain in France and co-author of the study. Video games represent a new terrain full of possibilities when it comes to the creation of innovative content and experiences. 40% of those interviewed in Western countries use video game consoles connected to the network and more than 60% of casual gamers surveyed are in favor of increasing the hours of play. In any case, a generational leap is perceived among players: while 60% of those under 35 prefer to play online, less than 25% of those over 55 are willing to do so.

The study reveals that, while approximately two-thirds of Westerners are very interested in cultural content via the Web, less than a third imagine spending more time on such activities. Many live shows attract only small audiences and these promoters have little capacity to produce profitable products.