Hollywood is positive about young consumers' willingness to pay for digital content

Hollywood has more confidence in the future, now children are growing up with the idea that you have to pay for content. Studies suggest that the current generation of children is growing up paying for content, reports Reuters and the Hollywood Reporter.

"You have a whole generation whose attitude toward interactive content is completely different," said Patrick Russo, a principal at the Salter Group advisory firm. "That generation is growing up paying for content. It may be their parents who are actually paying for it right now, but they do recognize that they are paying for content instead of stealing it."

Consensus estimates put the download-to-own segment of film and TV content to growth of averagely 15% or more per year through 2015. Data from tracking firm Rentrak shows a 30% rise in digital revenue between 2008 and 2009.

European figures seem to reflect this trend. Previously FutureOfCopyright.com reported that a quarter more German consumers paid for downloads in 2008 in respect to the previous year.

"We're seeing very positive results for younger skewing-content on digital," said Jamie McCabe, Fox's executive vice-president in charge of worldwide digital platforms. "There's a generation that's had legitimate digital services from an early age and are digital buyers." Fox Home Entertainment's digital version of the recently release kids movie "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lighting Thief" has "exceeded our expectations", McCabe said.

John Calkins, executive vice-president of digital and commercial innovation with Sony comes to the same conclusion based on data from Youth Trends. Youthful attitudes toward downloading unlicensed content have "significantly improved" during recent years. The data suggest that nearly half of student’s consider piracy as something unacceptable. Three years ago that number was 1 out of 10 students.

Meanwhile the Hollywood Reporter is critical of the studies cited, or actually about studies in general; they often contradict each other. This can be illustrated by two studies, where one indicates that Twitter users are not willing to pay for the service, while another study found 20% willing to do so.

Whether the optimism about young people’s willingness to pay for digital content, motivated by research will lead to adult consumers who’d rather pay a reasonable amount for digitally distributed content than download it for free from an illegal source, only time will tell.

Actually, young people attitude’s towards obtaining content legal or illegal might change. Not so much their upbringing, but rather convenience would be a decisive factor in the choice between legal and illegal alternatives, research shows…

Source: TechDirt