Study: Internet films to outpace DVDs
Los Angeles - US consumers for the first time ever will watch more films online than on DVDs in 2012, according to a new study.
The report by IHS Screen Digest said that Americans will watch 3.4 billion movies online, about 1 billion more than they watch on DVD and Blu-ray formats combined. However, because online movie viewing is overwhelmingly accessed through cheap monthly plans, revenues will reach just 1.72 billion dollars, compared to 11.1 billion dollars to be spent on renting individual films on DVD or Blu-ray, the report said.
In total, online stores and services will account for 57 per cent of movie consumption in 2012, but only 12 per cent of spending, the study forecast.
Report author Dan Cryan said that online movie rentals from iTunes and its competitors would account for only 1.3 per cent of total online movie consumption, with the remainder coming from monthly subscriptions.//DPA
