One of the topics in my New Technology course is changes in movie distribution due to digital content and the Internet. This is an example of disruption due to the global network. For years I have predicted that DVD movie rentals would decline as people adopt on-line stores. The change was slow and not noticeable until last year when something changed. The internet is finally chancing viewing in a dramatic way.
I did a small survey among my students. Here are the results:
Average number of hours watching TV per day: 1,6
Average number of times visiting cinema in one month: 0,75
Average number of times going to the Video Rental Store in one month: 0,19
Average number of on-line TV shows and movies watched in one month (streaming): 8,8. If we only count those that do streaming: 17,6
Average number of TV shows and movies downloading in one month: 17. If we only count those that do downloads: 24,6
So the conclusion is this: TV watching in the group in significantly below the average of 3 hours per day, video rentals are way down and the cinema is not very popular in this group. Only one person went more than 2 times to the cinema. Streaming and downloads on the other hand are more popular. This confirms that TV viewing is moving away from the traditional TV set and to the Internet.
In short, people don’t watch TV anymore. They watch the Internet. But then the TV is becoming one of the screens for STB and computers.
Note that this survey is based on small group and not to be taken as general trends. But it does represent an obvious trend. Video rentals are moving to the Internet.