Study Finds DVDs And BluRay Discs Dominate Digital Video Options

Consumers are still using DVDs and Blu-ray Discs (BD) more than all other digital  video options combined reports market research group NPD. According to the company’s March 2011 study that included 9636 completed surveys from U.S. consumers, 77% of those surveyed reported watching a movie via DVD or BD for an average of four hours per week, unchanged from last year. 68% watched a movie on a TV or cable network, 49% at a theatre and 21% used paid video on demand (VOD) on their TV.

“With the well publicized struggles of Blockbuster and retail video stores closing around the country, and with media attention increasingly focused on the newest digital home-video offerings, the value and importance of physical formats to the home video industry and to consumers is often overlooked,” said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for The NPD Group. “Even though DVD sales and rentals are slowing, there is no evidence that consumers are abandoning physical discs for watching movies, even as the choices for viewing are expanding.”

With regard to spending, the study reports that 78% of home video budgets are spent for purchase/rental of DVD and BD. Video subscription services like Netflix offering a mix of VOD and physical discs accounted for about 15%. Digital video downloads, paid streaming, paid transactional video on demand (VOD), and pay per view (PPV) comprised the remaining 8 percent. Overall per-capita spending on home video fell by 2 percent.

“We expect strong growth from many digital sectors, driven by connected devices, improving selection, and the consumer’s endless quest for convenience,” Crupnick said. “For now, though, physical discs continue to lead overall engagement and spending by home video viewers; and even with increasing use of VOD and other digital formats, the primacy of DVD and Blu-ray in home video will continue for the foreseeable future.”