Nearly One-Half Of Americans Aware Of Online Movie Downloading

New York, NY - As we head into Oscar season and the celebrity elite head for Hollywood, new findings from global marketing research firm Ipsos-Insight reveals that a significant proportion of Americans are now aware of Internet-based movie distribution methods, with early-adopting males, those under 35 years of age and affluent households being most attuned to this looming distribution channel--the same groups who form the core market for current movie ticket sales and movie rentals.

Americans Expand Awareness Of Digital Consumption To Motion Picture Downloads

New findings from MOTION, a new biannual shared-cost research program by Ipsos-Insight that tracks shifting traditional and digital movie viewing behavior among Americans ages 12 and older, reveal that in late 2004, nearly one-half (47%) of Americans aged 12 and older were aware of the ability to downloaded a full-length motion picture off of the Internet. This translates into roughly 100 million people within the current U.S. population.

According to the study, those most likely to be aware include males (53%), those between the ages of 12 and 34 (approximately 60%), and with those household incomes of over $50,000 (about 50%). However, only a fraction of total Americans (4%) have actually downloaded a movie off of the Internet, with early indicators showing those who have done so are likely to have used non-licensed file-sharing services to acquire these movies.

"These data are evidence that Americans' awareness of the Internet as a method of obtaining broad entertainment content is expanding," said Matt Kleinschmit, Vice President with Ipsos-Insight's Technology & Communications practice and author of MOTION's sister program TEMPO: Keeping Track With Digital Music Behavior.

"With the music industry struggling in the past few years to define and integrate the role of digital acquisition methods into the existing marketplace, it appears that the motion picture industry is presented with a unique opportunity to learn from the evolution of that category. Specifically, the profile of `first' movie downloaders reflect, in many ways, what we saw in the early days of music downloading--that is, they are younger, male, and those seeking technological methods of primarily free acquisition. It will be interesting to monitor how this develops over time, to see if online acquisition of movies mimics what we have seen in the digital music category, where fee-based downloaders have skewed to an older and more gender balanced profile."

Mainstream Movie Downloading Still A Long Walk Down The Red Carpet

Outside of the youth market, mainstream movie watchers appear slower to tap into the Internet as a movie source. With the majority of Americans still unaware that downloading movies from the Internet is even an option, there is a clear and immediate challenge just to promote the concept. One-third (34%) of Americans aged 25 or older "have never heard of downloading full-length motion pictures off of the Internet," while 27% of the coveted 12- to 17-year-old market says the same. The study further shows that interest in downloading movies off of the Internet may be slow to take off, with only 3% of total Americans saying they are "extremely" or "very" likely to download a full length motion picture off of the Internet in the next 12 months.

Whereas only 4% of Americans have downloaded a movie, 44% have rented a movie in the past 30 days, and 37% have gone to a theatre to watch a show. Teenagers prove to be the heaviest consumers of movies: 58% of 12- to 17-year olds have gone to the movies in the past 30 days, and they are equally as likely to have rented a movie (58%). Teenagers' video-renting habits are only eclipsed by the next-youngest demographic, 18- to 24-year olds, 63% of whom have rented a movie (while only 44% went to the theatre to see a film). Adults 55 and older are the least likely to have paid to see a movie in the last 30 days: less than one-fifth went to the movies (18%) or rented a video (18%).

"It's important to keep in mind that traditional movie watching options such as going to the movies and renting movies still hold the lion's share of movie watching behaviour. At this early stage, it's hard to predict what impact new movie options such as downloading will have on traditional outlets. This is something that we will be tracking in our new syndicated study, Motion, where we will not only trend downloading behaviour, but also the impact of video-on-demand and online services such as Netflix. Also, it will be interesting to see how the early online movie distribution models, such as MovieLink, will adapt and fare as others move into this space," said Lynne Bartos, Senior Vice President and a leader with the Ipsos-Insight Cable, Media & Entertainment research practice.

Methodology

Data on movie downloading behavior was gathered from MOTION, a new biannual shared-cost research program by Ipsos-Insight that tracks shifting traditional and digital movie viewing behavior among Americans ages 12 and older.

Data for this release were collected between December 9 and 12, 2004, via a nationally representative U.S. sample of 1,112 respondents aged 12 and over. With a total sample size of 1,112, one can say with 95% certainty that the results are accurate to within +/- 2.94%. To learn more about the methodology of MOTION, please visit http://www.ipsos-insight.com/industryfocus/techandcomm/motion.aspx.

For more information on this press release, please contact: Lynne Bartos

Senior Vice President Ipsos-Insight, Cable, Media & Entertainment Practice 312.665.0556

or

Matt Kleinschmit

Vice President Ipsos-Insight, Technology & Communications Practice 312.665.0529

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