The Battle between On-Demand, Cinema and Blu-ray Feb 2014

The Battle between On-Demand, Cinema and Blu-ray
On demand, cinema and Blu-ray with all the new video and movie viewing options provided by the Internet,
many people are wondering and predicting which one will “win”. For example, there’s the British Film
Institute report reporting that on-demand viewing was up 50% last year (as of June 2013). This has led to
many theorizing that people will no longer be going to the cinema. And others are claiming it means the
death of DVD’s or Blu-ray discs.
But what are the chances of one format winning out over the other? If you look at the big picture industry
data on our entertainment choices (when it comes to movies in particular) it’s fairly clear that we like to
have our choices.
According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers study, at-home and on-the-go viewing is up 21 percent. But the
cinema market grew by three percent over the same time period. The rate of growth is different, but both
are still increasing.
And what about DVD and Blu-ray? Many experts agree that cinema can survive alongside digital delivery of
movies. But they also agree that physical media, DVD and Blu-ray, will decline and eventually be phased out
like VHS.
Again, if we look at the overall landscape of where the Internet is going, the increases in mobile accessibility,
and changes to technology … it isn’t a foregone conclusion that physical media is on its way out.
Here’s our assessment of why all three will continue to thrive.
video hosting services at home and to mobile devices will continue to grow because:
Both Broadband and mobile coverage is increasing. Government and private initiatives around the world are
ensuring populated areas will have access.
Bandwidth is increasing as well. Samsung has already tested the 5G network it plans to launch in 2020. It
claims to support download speeds of 10 Gbps – that means you can download one of today’s HD movies in
less than one second.
As technology advances and the consumer base grows, prices for devices will drop meaning more
consumers using the devices for viewing. More customers mean more offerings from more companies.
Cinema will continue to grow (assuming the movies are worth seeing!):