research_research 03/10/2014 03:04 Page 1
94% online pirates ‘Dual Consumers’
n estimated 94% of
all consumers
viewing pirate
movies are ‘Dual
Consumers’ who also buy
legitimate copies, driven in
part to do so by curtailment
and conversion
technologies, according to
a study undertaken by
Verance Corporation, a
global developer of
technologies and solutions
that protect and enhance
the use of media content.
According to Verance, this
finding confirms that piracy
loss can be converted to
revenue opportunities for major
and independent studios, other
content providers and content
retailers.
The survey, which identifies
six distinct categories of
consumers of pirated movies,
offers some encouraging signs
for the film industry and
content retailers by presenting
the first in-depth picture of
attitudes, behaviours and
motivations of consumers of
pirated films, including primary
drivers for paying for legitimate
copies.
It pinpoints two of six
groups known as ‘Occasionals’
and ‘Convenience Streamers’,
which combined account for
over one-third of the estimated
nearly 1 billion views of pirated
movies annually; (volume
extrapolated from survey
results). These groups rank ease
and convenience as stronger
drivers of acquiring and viewing
pirated copies – above price.
With adequate discretionary
income, ‘Occasionals’ and
‘Convenience Streamers’ exhibit
the highest frequency of
conversion to legitimate
purchases when confronted by
technological barriers that
blocked them from watching a
pirated movie.
Approximately two-thirds of
consumers within these groups
are unwilling to spend more
than a few minutes trying to
A
find alternative ways to watch
that pirated copy when they are
blocked. Roughly 40% of
would-be pirated views were
reported among these segments
to have converted to paid
legitimate copies, resulting in
increased revenue for studios,
CEO Nil Shah said.
Verance CTO Joe Winograd
said the findings indicated that
current use of interdiction
technologies was having a
measurable impact on casual
piracy and shed light as to why
blocked pirate views are
theatres, movie rental services,
home video retailers, and digital
movie service providers.
The survey consisted of
1,070 online respondents and
24 in-person interviews, all of
whom had attempted to view
pirated movies on an HD video
player in the three months prior
to being interviewed. Overall,
over 15% of the US population
age 13 and over was found to be
active consumers of pirated
movies, watching an average of
23 pirated movies per year.
“This survey reveals that
blocking and conversion
technologies curtail pirate
consumption and the findings
converted to legitimate
purchases. “Broadening the use
of these technologies to other
media platforms, including next
generation devices will
accelerate legitimate purchases
and revenue,” he advised.
The ‘Occasionals’ and
‘Convenience Streamers’
exhibited the highest propensity
to convert to legitimate
purchases across all six groups.
Those considered being in the
‘No Big Deal’ and ‘Content
Enthusiasts’ groups were found
to be the most at risk for
increased consumptio