A new survey reveals that even when people understand that revenue loss caused by video pirating results in less investment in creating new content, many are unconcerned. Almost 40 percent of respondents said this knowledge has no effect on the amount of pirated video they want to watch. Only 19 percent of respondents indicated the financial damage caused by piracy would stop them from watching pirated content altogether.
Irdeto commissioned the YouGov online study of 1,190 U.S. adults (age 18+), which was fielded in late December and early January. It showed that 74 percent of the people asked know that producing or sharing pirated video content is illegal. The survey also found that 69 percent of respondents think that streaming or downloading pirate content is illegal. Nearly one-third (32 percent) of respondents said that they watch pirated content.
“The negative impact that piracy has on the content creation industry extends much further than lost revenue,” Lawrence Low, VP of business development and sales at Irdeto, says. “Piracy deters content creators from investing in new content, impacting the creative process, and providing consumers with less choice. It is becoming increasingly important for operators and movie studios to educate consumers on the tactics employed by pirates and to further promote innovative offerings that allow consumers to legally acquire content.”
What kind of content is most popular to pirate? The survey says there is an even split between consumers who prefer to pirate TV shows (24 percent) and those that prefer to pirate movies that are currently in theaters (24 percent). Respondents were also interested in DVD and Blu-ray movies (18 percent), live sports (10 percent), and OTT original content from Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, and others (9 percent).
“Education on the impact of piracy to consumers is an important element of an anti-piracy strategy,” Irdeto VP of Services Rory O’Connor explains. “It is important for content owners to educate themselves on the three elements of consumer choice when selecting a service: content, value, and convenience. To avoid pirates stealing market share, content owners and operators need to make sure they are implementing a comprehensive, 360-degree anti-piracy strategy that includes watermarking, detection, and enforcement.”
The Irdeto study is interesting to compare to another one published last fall that honed in on piracy habits of young U.S. Millennials (ages 18-24), as well as their streaming and ad blocking tendencies. In that report from Anatomy, 69 percent of respondents indicated the use of at least one form of piracy. Anatomy also noted that 67 percent of the young Millennials surveyed mistakenly believed at least one form of piracy is legal. More on that study is here.
