Wiggin Digital Entertainment Survey 2013

April 22, 2013

1)    Data privacy concerns on the rise

• Over three quarters of people (77%) have expressed concern over data privacy online, saying that they would like more information about who can access the personal information they provide. This is up 6% on last year.
• Interestingly, the same research found that people are becoming more comfortable with sharing their personal information online. 72% now have a Facebook profile, which is up from 67% last year and is a 31% uplift on 2008.
• Only 10% say they always check the privacy policy in a website’s terms and conditions – this is in spite of the fact that people are getting more concerned about use of their data, but are still sharing more personal information online.

Alexander Ross, Wiggin partner, comments: “Concern is on the rise, yet people are continuing to share their personal information online. This would appear to be an unusual pattern and perhaps tells us that willingness is there to engage with brands, businesses and websites, but people need more reassurance and better information about what is happening to their personal data.

“It demonstrates that the opportunity for brands to engage with consumers is huge, because the appetite is there, they just need to earn the public’s trust and to be crystal clear about data usage.

“We have all heard about Google’s recent issues regarding its privacy policy, but Google is not alone here and all of this contributes to increasing concern on the part of the public.

“35% of people said they would be willing to provide companies with personal information in return for rewards or benefits. This trade in personal information could be huge if businesses are able to earn the trust of consumers.”

2)    Piracy: Consumers are still unsure about which actions are lawful and which are unlawful

• Consumers are still unsure which actions are lawful and unlawful.  The following activities are all unlawful yet a significant proportion of people either think they are legal or don’t know whether they are or not:

–          44% think they can lawfully upload (or don’t know whether it is lawful to upload) commercially produced media to a file-sharing website

–          35% think they can lawfully copy (or don’t know whether it is lawful to copy) a film or TV show as a file from a friend

• 65% of pirates regularly use search engines such as Google to find unauthorised content.  Over 1 in 4 pirates use search engines on a daily basis to find unauthorised content;
• Film and TV are the leading targets for pirated content.  24% of the content accessed by “pirates” is film and TV shows.  Music (22%), software (15%) and magazines (12%);
• ISP letters would still be effective in deterring piracy – 59% of “pirates” agree that it is likely that they would stop infringing copyright online if they received a letter from their ISP;
• Attitudes towards internet regulation have strengthened since 2010.  Most consumers agree that copyright is important and infringement should be prevented – 68% say that they agree that it is important to protect the creative industries from piracy (up from 55% in 2010);
• Consumers are increasingly confident that they can secure all the content that they need without using “pirate” websites – 62% of all respondents now confirming this (up from 58% in 2010).

Simon Baggs, Partner and Head of Content Protection at Wiggin, comments:

“The successful development of popular platforms for the legal consumption of media entertainment online is reflected in the changes in consumer attitudes identified in the survey.  With consumers ready for a market that can deliver their content requirements without the need to access pirate sites, effective enforcement now needs to be addressed.

“There is continued support amongst consumers for both infringement notification letters to be sent by ISPs (as provided for under the Digital Economy Act 2010) and for the blocking of pirate websites.

“It is hoped that the combination of attractive legal services and effective enforcement will significantly curb the huge damage caused by online piracy.”

3)    Women’s voices not heard online

• Men, particularly young men (aged 20-24), have more of an online presence than women.
• 70% of young men said they comment on blogs and articles, this is compared to 45% of young women.
• Nearly three fifths (58%) of young men say they write a blog, compared to just over a third of young women (36%).
• Three quarters of young men say they contribute to online forums and discussions, but less than half of young women (46%) say the same.

Alexander Ross, Wiggin partner, comments: “This raises a number of interesting questions, not only about why women aren’t engaging as much as men online, but about whether or not this engagement results in action. Men may be more vocal online, but does quantity equate to quality? We all know how powerful sites like Mumsnet are, so it could be the case that women are saying less, but having a greater impact.

“Furthermore, the real question for commercial organisations is who is actually carrying out transactions online. We don’t know that just because men seem to be more active in online conversations that they are also the ones that buy, or sell, more online.

“All of this notwithstanding, the future is online and there is a challenge for commercial organisations to find ways to bring women into the online mix.”

4) Who said the public isn’t ready for the paywall?

• Nearly two fifths of people (37%) said they would be willing to pay for their favourite content that they currently get free.
• YouTube and Facebook were the most popular, with 12% saying they would be willing to pay (at a an annual rate of £19 and £20 respectively)
• Fewer people (4%) said they would be willing to pay for their favourite broadsheet, but at a higher price – £39 per year.

Alexander Ross, Wiggin partner, comments: “It is heartening to see that a relatively significant percentage of people would be willing to pay for their favourite online content. However with an increasing number of services offering content online, it is unlikely that free content will be replaced by paid-for in the near future. In fact, we would expect that both business types – the so-called ‘freemium’ model – will persist.”

Methodology:

The findings are based on a large-scale online survey of 2,500 UK respondents, representative of the national demographic, conducted in March 2013.

Research was carried out by ComRes.