iridetoIrdeto’s services are widely deployed in the world of pay TV on satellite, cable, terrestrial and IP networks, therefore the expert in broadcast software security solutions recently explored consumer consumption patterns of video content to identify the top two reasons why people turn to piracy. Released just during BroadcastAsia 2014 in Singapore this week, the company’s survey revealed that lack of content availability and concerns over price are in fact the major reasons.

Further findings include that:

  • On average, 29% of the respondents in Australia (40%), India (40%), Indonesia (9%) and Singapore (32%) indicated that they are ‘unlikely’ or ‘extremely unlikely’ to watch pirated video content while 27% of the respondents indicated that they are neutral.
  • Most consumers are driven to watching pirated video content due to lack of content availability (39% in Australia, 34% in India, 36% in Indonesia and 44% in Singapore) and pricing concerns (19% in Australia, 29% in India, 36% in Indonesia and 30% in Singapore).
  • The majority of the consumers across the markets surveyed either own or plan to purchase smart devices such as Smartphones (62%), Tablets (46%) and Smart TVs (34%) within the next year.
  • Most of the consumers in Australia (60%) and Indonesia (52%) watch video content only at home, whereas the majority watch video content either at home or at another location in Singapore (51%) and India (51%).
  • When asked what would deter them from viewing pirated content, consumers in Australia (27%) cited protection of intellectual property (IP) as the main factor, whereas consumers in Indonesia (34%) and Singapore (32%) were most concerned with poor quality of pirated videos. In India, the top two factors were security issues (24%), followed by protection of IP (23%) and poor quality of pirated videos (23%).

“This survey is testament to Irdeto’s commitment in offering valuable insights into video consumption trends in Asia-Pacific. By enabling content providers and operators the right insights, they can adapt to changing viewer behavioral patterns and preferences and be in a better position to provide products and services that are rich and fulfilling for their customers,” said Bengt Jonsson, Vice President, APAC, Irdeto. “The survey findings not only reaffirm the importance of multi-screen and the onset of smart device ownership in Asia-Pacific but also highlight the diversity in consumer behavior and trends within the Asia-Pacific region. With the region’s demand for high-quality and secure video content to be made available in their region at an affordable price despite ongoing online piracy, it is without a doubt that these should be the top priorities for both pay TV operators and over-the-top service providers in Asia-Pacific today in a bid to remain competitive in the market.”

Unsurprisingly, most consumers enjoy consuming video content at home but the majority is doing so on their laptops or desktop computers, smartphones or tablets (61% in India, 57% in Indonesia and 71% in Singapore) - except for consumers in Australia who watch video content on TV (51%) as much as they do on other devices.

Interestingly, these results are in line with those in a similar survey released by Irdeto in March this year on Chinese consumers’ viewing preferences. Here, Irdeto unveiled that 86% of Chinese consumers still watch video content at home, but only 15% of the respondents do so on traditional TV with a combined majority of 85% choosing computers, smartphones and tablets as their preferred screens. Also, with close to 60% of respondents saying that they watch videos on-the-go (while commuting, or outside of work or home), it reaffirms the unabated rise of multi-screen viewing among Chinese consumers today. The key findings include:

  • Most Chinese (86%) still enjoy watching videos at home, but the majority (85%) clocked most viewing time on laptop or desktop computers (42%), smartphones (29%), and tablets (15%);
  • More than half (55%) of Chinese respondents access most video content for free on Internet video sites such as Youku and Tudou;
  • 62% of Chinese respondents are ‘very likely’ or ‘likely’ to watch pirated videos.

The survey found laptop and desktop computers to be the top screen of choice when it came to viewing video content (42%), and smartphone devices to be the second most preferred screen for viewing video content (29%) – underlining a significant behavioral shift whereby viewers are now typically choosing non-traditional platforms over traditional television..

All in all the results showed that consumers in China are concerned about security risks (32%) and poor video quality (25%) despite an openness to online piracy, where more than 60% of respondents said that they were ‘extremely likely’ (21%) or ‘likely’ (41%) to pirate video content. A combined 58% cited high pricing of paid content (28%) and refusal to wait for official release of video (30%) as the top two compelling reasons for watching pirated videos.

By MediaBUZZ