Study: Most Consumers Willing to Pay for Online Viewing

A just-released study of online video consumers in eight countries found that a majority are willing to pay for the privilege, but most also still want to view full-length content on a TV set rather than a computer.

The Accenture survey found that 69% of those polled were prepared to pay a subscription fee to watch video over the Web, and 45% said they already were. About half (49%) put the price point in the $5-$10 dollar range, with 41% looking to pay under $5 and only 10% saying they would pay more than $10.

The caveat, Accenture said, was that to pay for that content, the respondents said that quality needed to be at a maximum and ads at a minimum.

The survey found that for viewing full-length videos or TV series, 72% preferred the TV set, 41% a laptop, 25% a tablet and only 12% a smartphone.  

Accenture exec Francesco Venturini said that given their control of networks and access, cable and telco companies have "the edge" when it comes to being identified as a trusted provider of online video service.

The study was an online survey of 7,500 consumers in Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S, identified as a "representative sample" of the population in each country.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.