U.S. online users spent $385 million purchasing and renting films using online in 2010 –up 38% from the year prior to — surpassing for the initial time the quantity paid for on-line tv shows.
Based on analysis from IHS Screen Digest, the marketplace for Web tv episode rentals and purchases final year was $366 million. In 2009, spending on on-line films and TV was $280 million and $295 million, respectively.
The shift reflects the growing variety of methods customers can access films via devices like video game consoles, set-top boxes and also the iPad in the exact same time that Hulu along with other totally free streaming web sites make it much less appealing to pay to download TV shows.
The development of the digital marketplace came amid an overall downturn for the home entertainment market final year, with income down 3% to $18.8 billion and sales and rentals of conventional DVDs down 11% to $14 billion.
2010 also saw growing competitions within the digital film industry, because the grip of Apple Inc.’s iTunes slipped along with other rivals, most notably Microsoft Corp., gained market share.
iTunes’ share dropped to 64.5% from 74.4%, based on IHS Screen Digest, although Microsoft, which sells and rents films by way of its Xbox 360 video game console, grew to 17.9% from 11.6%.
Film downloads on Sony Corp.’s Playstation 3 game console had been No. 3 at 7.2%, up from 5.7% in 2009.
Vudu, which was acquired by Wal-Mart Shops Inc. final February, relaunched in November and entered at No. 4 within the market, based on IHS Screen Digest digital media analysis director Arash Amel.
The other main competitor in download-to-own and video-on-demand films is Amazon.com. The on-line retail giant is presently preparing to launch a subscription streaming service that would place it into competitors with Netflix Inc. That model has proved much more well-liked with customers than paying for person films, as evidenced by the breakout good results of Netflix.
Even though you will find no industrywide charts for digital downloads, Apple reported in December that probably the most well-liked films of the year on iTunes had been, in order, “The Hurt Locker,” “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” “Hot Tub Time Machine,” “Iron Man 2″ and “Zombieland,” based on CNET News.
