GfK: Consumers Prefer Physical Vs. Digital Video for Renting & Buying

NEW YORK: Impacted by the rise of the sharing economy, the uptake of renting and buying individual movies and TV shows has yet to take off in the digital marketplace, according to a GfK study.

The report, part of GfK’s The Home Technology Monitor, shows that many consumers continue to prize their DVDs and other physical media. Viewers are less likely to add to their video libraries with intangible digital copies.

According to the study, less than half (46 percent) of consumers say they have ever purchased or rented a digital-only copy of a TV program or movie, compared with 86 percent who have ever bought or rented a DVD or Blu-ray disc, and 78 percent for VHS tapes. Among “digital-never” consumers (those who have never bought or rented a digital program or movie) 70 percent have bought or rented a DVD or Blu-ray disc, and 68 percent have done the same with a VHS tape.

At least two-thirds of “digital nevers” mentioned the availability of an SVOD service as an important reason for not buying digital copies of individual titles. Key consumer concerns about digital-only formats include difficulty of use, inability to access all content across all devices, and the need for an internet connection to view.

The study also reveals that even though 37 percent of respondents had purchased DVD or Blu-ray discs that included access to a digital-only version of the video, two-thirds of these buyers have never activated the digital content—mostly because they have “no need” for it or are just “not interested.”

“Our research clearly shows that most ‘digital-nevers’ have histories of renting or buying TV programs and movies in physical media,” said David Tice, the senior VP of media and entertainment and director of The Home Technology Monitor. “But the desire to seek out and purchase content so purposefully seems to have given way in a digital world to a subscription mindset. Content creators and distributors need to do a better job of translating viewers’ passions and curiosity into digital transactions at the title level—which brings a lot more direct revenue to the companies involved.”