For Immediate Release
Contact: Jenny Barrett
Parks Associates
972-490-1113
Email: jenny@parksassociates.com
FOR MOVIES, EUROPEANS GO, AMERICANS STAY HOME
European Households prefer the cinema while Americans like to rent
Dallas, Texas September 28, 2005 — When it comes to watching movies, Internet households in North America prefer to stay at home while similar European households prefer the cinema, according to Global Digital Living, a multinational consumer study by Parks Associates that provides comparative data from 13 nations, identifying the relative rates of adoption of digital living technologies.
For North America, the gap between renting versus going out is particularly pronounced in Canada, where 54% of all Internet households rent movies each month but just 29% go out to the movies at the same rate. Conversely, European Internet households prefer the cinema over renting movies. In France, for example, 36% of all Internet households go to the cinema every month while just 21% rent movies.
“The practice of ‘cocooning’ or surrounding your personal living space with everything you want appears to be stronger in North America than in Europe,” said John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates. “North American households are much more likely to use pay-per-view or have a subscription TV service, and the difference in film viewing habits is an extension of this trend.”
In addition, Global Digital Living found that Asian Internet households generally follow their North American peers and rent movies more often than go to the cinema. South Korea was a notable exception, however, with 43% going to the movies monthly and 35% renting movies monthly.
“This finding in Korea is partially due to the increasing use of the Internet to watch movies,” Barrett said. “Forty-eight percent of Korean Internet households download or stream video every month, a number that surpasses both their rental and movie-going rates. Korea has always had a weak movie rental market, which ironically has helped boost the demand for online distribution.”
The Global Digital Living project is a study of worldwide consumer technology trends. It surveyed Internet households in thirteen nations: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, India, China, South Korea, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
For additional information on Global Digital Living, visit http://www.parksassociates.com or contact 972-490-1113 or sales@parksassociates.com.
About Parks Associates: Parks Associates is a market research and consulting firm focused on all product and service segments that are “digital” or provide connectivity within the home. The company’s expertise includes home networks, digital entertainment, consumer electronics, broadband and Internet services, and home systems.
Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, multiclient studies, consumer research, workshops, and custom-tailored client solutions. Parks Associates also hosts Fall Focus and co-hosts CONNECTIONS (in partnership with the Consumer Electronics Association) each year. http://www.parksassociates.com.
