Skip to main content

Film Studios, TV Networks Study Consumers

Many broadcast networks such as ABC, NBC, and the BBC are now making their hit shows available via broadband delivery to PC platforms. Few of these companies can answer the questions "How are current users accessing this content? What are they doing with it once it's in their hands?"

"Failure to collect and analyze data on consumers' patterns of usage poses risks for content owners," says Vamsi Sistla, ABI Research director for broadband and multimedia. "Consumers' habits have profound implications for content owners' strategies."

Once a video is downloaded onto a computer, is it watched only on the monitor? Is it transferred to a TV for viewing? Is it moved to a portable media player and taken on the road? Is it burned on DVD and put on a shelf?

Why does any of this matter? Because content owners can tailor their products and services, and form strategic partnerships, based on the answers. "Any time you try to nourish a new market," says Sistla, "it's critical that you identify the other entities that make up the value-chain. If you don't bring them up to speed with your technology, the chances are that your efforts will be wasted. Just because you have a great solution doesn't mean that the rest of the ecosystem is ready to take advantage of it."

Suppose a consumer uses a home office PC to download movies, and watches them right there on the monitor or burns them to DVD to be viewed on the living room TV. Neither method is really convenient. Another option: stream the movie from the PC to a TV that has a Wi-Fi media adaptor. And a third: use a "media center" PC that can be placed permanently beneath the TV and speakers. Perform computing tasks via a wireless link to a Wi-Fi-ready monitor and keyboard in the home office.

The opportunities are as varied as consumers' digital lifestyles. Networks and hardware vendors should design and market their products accordingly.

Popular posts from this blog

How WLAN Transforms Industrial Automation

The industrial sector is on the eve of a wireless transformation, driven by an urgent demand for greater network capacity, reliability, and deterministic performance. Historically, manufacturers and mission-critical operations have relied on wired networks — favoring their predictability — because spectrum congestion in legacy 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands limited confidence in wireless for operational technology (OT) environments. However, with the introduction and rapid adoption of the 6GHz spectrum, compounded by significant advances in Wi-Fi standards, industrial facilities are now poised to embrace wireless LANs as the backbone for automation and digital innovation. Industrial WLAN Market Development Recent research from ABI Research forecasts that over 70 percent of industrial-grade wireless LAN access points (WLAN APs) shipped in 2030 will support the 6GHz band. This is a leap from 2 percent in 2023, highlighting a rapid and profound technological shift. The market for ruggedized indust...