ISP customers want their downloads, and they want them now. Irritation with a sluggish download can quickly result in blame directed squarely at the service provider, no matter what the cause, according to the annual “State of Digital Downloads” report recently put out by Limelight Networks.
The shift to wireless devices has brought a swing in expectations. The smaller the screen, the greater the impatience, particularly among Millennial users, Limelight reports. A slowdown or interruption in downloads leads to consumer frustration as 26 percent cite “it takes too long to complete the download” as the most significant impediment to enjoying a great digital experience, and blame is directed toward mobile carriers or cable broadband providers.
This is especially true among younger users, the report says. They download the most content, are the most easily frustrated and are quickest to ascribe blame when the download experience was less than optimal.
It’s no secret that more and more content providers are specifically targeting the approximate 18- to 30-year-old group. For example, in yesterday’s announcement by Starz that it was launching its subscription streaming service directly to consumers, the company’s CEO Chris Albrecht says: “Our programming will now be more widely available to the 20 million broadband-only homes of cord nevers, cord cutters and cord shavers, including Millennials and other underserved consumers who need other viable subscription service options.”
Keeping that age group’s annoyance over downloads down is going to be an ongoing challenge for ISPs as more content is aimed directly at the young demographic.
Limelight’s report also finds that in just the past few months, the smartphone has displaced the PC as the dominant device for the download and consumption of content. More users downloaded content onto Android-based smartphones (62 percent), while Apple’s iPad (used by 43 percent) was nearly tied with Android tablets (45 percent). As such, the Google Play store led the way as the prevalent destination for content downloads.
What are people downloading and when? Limelight’s numbers show that beyond OS updates, consumers are leaning mostly toward entertainment: new apps (33 percent), video games (18 percent) and movies and TV shows (13 percent).
The bulk of downloading occurs at night, with the hours of 6 p.m.-midnight as “prime time” for acquiring and consuming entertainment. More than 40 percent download movies and TV shows during these hours, with 35 percent similarly downloading video games and music, according to the report.
“Mobile devices are never more than an arm’s length away. While it’s surprising that they have overtaken the PC and laptop for content downloads, it’s not shocking: widely-reported statistics in 2015 showed the smartphone being utilized more regularly than other devices for accessing the Internet,” Jason Thibeault, senior director, content marketing at Limelight says. “This used to be simply among the Millennial set. Now it’s a universal truth.”