Piracy Remains a Threat to Doing Online Business: PwC Consumer Report

Mar 10, 2011 | Corporate Member News

Arr, it's an advance copy of The King’s Speech ye be wanting?

Not surprisingly, the key motivator for consumers to pirate films and television programs is the reward of free content. But aside from the traditional reason of price, leading factors also include consumers’ desire for earlier access, a perception that “everyone is doing it” and the explosion of free content available online. This is according to PwC’s new piracy study from its US consumer research program measuring consumer attitudes towards piracy and related behaviours.

At the same time, consumers in Canada are being faced with escalating access fees and the usage based billing debate is ongoing. “Usage based billing if a reality will push consumers back to traditional and payment based methods of consuming content,” says Michael Paterson, a partner in PwC’s Canadian Entertainment & Media group.

Among key findings in the PwC study:

  • 81% of the consumers who admit to pirating TV, movie and video content say they will likely continue to do so.
  • 40% of those who report “pirating” content via traditional methods said they will probably also pirate on mobile devices within the next six months.
  • US$3 for a movie and US$1 for a television show is the maximum amount consumers who admit to pirating are willing to pay to access content.

Combating piracy remains a struggle and a prime concern for entertainment companies – especially with the growing ease at which consumers can now access a variety of content on multiple platforms at their fingertips. Given the proliferation of smart phones, consumers are increasingly using their mobile devices to access the Internet—on average, 35 times per week.

“Mobile piracy is poised to escalate with the proliferation of smartphones, says Paterson. “This will need to be addressed in anti-piracy efforts.  There is some good news in sight as consumers expressed concern about potential piracy pitfalls, including poor quality of some content and the possibility of downloading a virus or facing legal trouble.”

Please contact Kiran Chauhan, (416) 947-8983, [email protected] or David Rowney, (416) 365-8858, [email protected] for more information. The full report including detailed findings from the report “The Speed of Life: Discovering Behaviours and Attitudes Related to Pirating Content,” (http://www.pwc.com/us/en/industry/entertainment-media/assets/piracy-survey-summary-report-0111.pdf) are also available from the media contacts.

About PwC

PwC firms provide industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to enhance value for their clients. More than 161,000 people in 154 countries in firms across the PwC network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice. See http://www.pwc.com/ for more information. In Canada, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (www.pwc.com/ca) and its related entities have more than 5,300 partners and staff in offices across the country.

“PwC” is the brand under which member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited (PwCIL) operate and provide services. Together, these firms form the PwC network. Each firm in the network is a separate legal entity and does not act as agent of PwCIL or any other member firm. PwCIL does not provide any services to clients. PwCIL is not responsible or liable for the acts or omissions of any of its member firms nor can it control the exercise of their professional judgment or bind them in any way.

PwC Name Change

PwC has changed its name from PricewaterhouseCoopers to PwC in the fall of 2010. ‘PwC’ is written in text with a capital ‘P’ and capital ‘C’. Only when you use the PwC logo is the name represented in lower case.

For further information:

Kiran Chauhan, PwC
Tel: +1 (416) 947 8983
e-mail: [email protected] 
OR:
 
David Rowney, PwC
Tel: 416 365 8858
email: [email protected] 
 
For more details, go to www.pwc.com/ca/entertainment-media 

 

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