Consumer usage of media and entertainment continues to be
dramatically reshaped by the Internet. A major UCLA consumer research study,
presented recently to media and entertainment executives in Los Angeles, shows
how online habits are cutting into television viewing and creating new broadband and multitasking habits.
During a Leadership Forum breakfast sponsored by Accenture and Korn/Ferry International, top media and entertainment executives got an
inside look at the research from Jeff Cole, director of the UCLA Center for
Communication Policy. The 2001 UCLA Internet Report, titled "Surveying the
Digital Future," is part of a unique year-to-year look at the effects of
computer and Internet technology on all aspects of society-a research study that, Cole notes, also should have been performed for television from its
inception.
Internet users "watch significantly less television," despite arguments from some networks to the contrary, Cole said. Internet users are 28 percent less likely to watch TV, he said. Among "very experienced"
Internet users (more than 5 years online), nearly 35 percent of survey
respondents said they spend less time watching TV.
"For the first time in the 52-year history of American television, kids under 14 are watching less television," Cole told the executives. " They like computers and the Internet as much, if not more than
television."
Despite that erosion, Cole does not believe that the growth of broadband will displace programming—but it will affect advertising.
Consumers who have broadband hookups, with its "always-on" connectivity, are more likely to turn to the Internet to check email or surf the Web during TV
commercial breaks, Cole said.
A bigger issue for network programmers is how to protect their intellectual property rights on the Internet, Cole said. The only thing
protecting movies or programs from widespread distribution is a lack of
bandwidth, so that it currently takes about 8 hours to send someone a pirated
copy of The Sopranos. But as bandwidth increases, someone could send a copy quickly to 10,000 people. Cole said, "If I was HBO, I'd be terrified."
Internet users engage in multitasking in a variety of ways.
Among very experienced users, about one-third watch TV while they are online while higher percentages listen to music on the computer (39 percent) or radio
(47 percent), engage in chatting and instant messaging (37 percent), or talk on
the phone (44 percent).
Compared to a year ago, the most significant growth in the Internet has been as an information source, not an entertainment medium, Cole said. Consumers have a higher perception of the Internet as a reliable and trustworthy information source—a trend Cole finds disturbing because he believes the Internet provides too much misinformation. Consumers, however, are more concerned about the security of using their credit cards for eCommerce than they were a year ago.
Broadband may change the prospects for entertainment on the Internet, Cole said, but providers need to do more to sell the advantages of broadband rather than speed alone. The only "digital divide" that Cole sees is the one between dial-up modem users, who use the Internet an average of about 10 hours per week, and broadband consumers, who use it more than 16 hours per week.
About 72 percent of Americans report some form of Internet
access, up from 67 percent in 2000. The longer a consumer has an Internet connection, the more they use it. This increased usage is a phenomenon that cuts across all age groups—not just younger users—and is driven primarily by
usage of the Internet for work, Cole said.
The 2001 UCLA Internet Report is based on a national survey sample of 2,006 Internet users and non-users. The project is sponsored by a
range of organizations and corporations, including Accenture, AOL Time Warner,
Microsoft, The National Science Foundation, Hewlett Packard, Merrill Lynch,
The Walt Disney Co., National Cable & Telecommunications
Association, Verizon, Sony and DirecTV. To obtain a copy of the report, visit
the
UCLA Center for
Communication Policy website.
The Los Angeles event marked the second in a continuing
series of Leadership Forum breakfasts sponsored in key cities around the
country by Accenture and Korn/Ferry.
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