- Contents
- *Scope and Themes
- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
What you need to know
This report explores movie sales and rentals to consumers, including all physical discs, digital movie stores, and over-the-top (OTT) subscription services, such as Netflix and Hulu Plus. Commentary provides actionable suggestions based on the review of developments and innovation in the market and the attitudes and habits of consumers who buy movies, rent them, and/or subscribe to streaming services.
The report includes sales data for subscriptions, electronic sell-through (EST), internet and cable subscription video on demand (iVOD and cVOD), the competitive context between shiny discs sales and rentals versus digital sales and rentals, subscription video on demand (sVOD), and the practices of leading digital stores. Topics explored also include attitudes toward HD (high-definition) content, the impact of demographics on sales, attitudes to finding content, and attitudes related to shifting preferences toward streaming movies and the ability to watch them on many types of devices.
Definition
For the purposes of this report, movie sales and rentals consists of long-form home video entertainment, with content minimally the length of a traditional 30-minute or one-hour long television slot when ad breaks are included (typically 22 minutes or 44 minutes without ads). Distribution methods include:
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DVDs and Blu-ray discs
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Subscription video-on-demand (sVOD)
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Cable video-on-demand (cVOD)
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Digital movie electronics sell-through (EST) and rentals
The report is inclusive of all types of video distributed through these channels, regardless of the type of content of the video (eg films, television shows, instructional videos, exercise routines, educational content). The following products are excluded from this definition:
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Ad-supported content (eg Crackle, YouTube, Hulu). Hulu Plus subscriptions are included in consumer data and segment sales, but is not the central focus of the report
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Traditional pay TV service from a cable, satellite, or telecommunications provider
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Content that is less than the standard length of a 30-minute episode of television
The report covers hardware on which movies are viewed solely in terms of its impact on viewership; hardware sales and innovations are not the primary subject of the report. The focus of research in this report is on the purchasing habits of adults aged 18+. The report builds on the analysis presented in Mintel’s Streaming Media: Movies and Television – US, December 2013 and Mintel’s Digital Movie Sales and Rentals – US, August 2012.
Sales data
Market size, segments, and forecast: Historical sales data from the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG). Forecasts are original to Mintel.
Consumer data
For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through GMI to explore consumer attitudes and behaviors toward digital movies sales and rentals. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in June 2014 among a sample of 2,000 adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.
Mintel selects survey respondents so that they are proportionally balanced to the entire US adult population based on the key demographics of gender, age, household income, and region. Mintel also slightly oversamples, relative to the population, respondents that are Hispanic or Black to ensure an adequate representation of these groups in our survey results. Please note that Mintel’s exclusive surveys are conducted online and in English only. Hispanics who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in our survey results.
Mintel has also analyzed data from Experian Marketing Services, using both the NCS (National Consumer Study) and the NHCS (National Hispanic Consumer Study). The NCS/NHCS was carried out from August 2013-March 2014, and the results are based on the sample of 12,305 adults (aged 18+), with results weighted to represent the US adult population.
Mintel has also used data from previous NCS/NHCS studies to trend attitudes and behavior, including the Experian Marketing Services Winter 2010 NCS/NHCS carried out July 2009-March 2010 and based on a sample of 11,975 adults aged 18+, the Experian Marketing Services Winter 2011 NCS/NHCS carried out July 2010-March 2011 and based on a sample of 13,041 adults aged 18+, the Experian Marketing Services Winter 2012 NCS/NHCS carried out July 2011-March 2012 and based on a sample of 12,212 adults aged 18+, and the Experian Marketing Services Winter 2013 NCS/NHCS carried out July 2012-March 2013 and based on a sample of 12,519 adults aged 18+.
While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American, or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanics can be of any race.
Abbreviations
The following abbreviations are used in this report:
| 480p | 480 lines of progressive resolution |
| 4G | Fourth-generation cellular network |
| 4K | Displays or content with 2,160 lines of resolution (with a horizontal resolution of about 4,000 pixels) |
| CAGR | Compound annual growth rate |
| cVOD | Video on demand delivered via a pay TV television service, such as from a cable, satellite, or telco provider |
| DEG | Digital Entertainment Group |
| EST | Electronic sell-through |
| HD | High-definition |
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Terms
The following terms are used in this report:
| Cord-cutters | People who have ended their pay TV subscription. |
| Cord-not-connectors | People who have never subscribed to a pay TV service |
| Digital media player | A set-top box or stick that enables the viewing of internet content on a television screen, with products including Apple TV, Chromecast, and Roku players, among many other brands. |
| Digital movie | While DVDs and Blu-rays are digital products, the term is used in this report to refer to long-form video content acquired via an intangible file, including via VOD, a streaming subscription, or a digital store purchase or rental |
| Digital store | A store that sells electronic files, including movies, music, games, or apps. Digital stores discussed in this report include iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and VUDU, among others |
| Digital store movie | A movie bought or rented from a digital store |
| Electronic sell-through | Segment of sales in which a digital store movie is purchased, rather than rented |
| High-definition | Video with a resolution greater than 480p |
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To provide an inflation-adjusted price value for markets Mintel uses the CPI to deflate current prices. The CPI is defined as follows:
| CPI | The Consumer Price Index is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.
The CPI and its components are typically used to adjust other economic series for price changes and to translate these series into inflation-free dollars. Examples of series adjusted by the CPI include retail sales, hourly and weekly earnings, and components of the national income and product accounts. In addition, and in Mintel reports, the CPI is used as a deflator of the value of the consumer’s dollar to find its purchasing power. The purchasing power of the consumer’s dollar measures the change in the value to the consumer of goods and services that a dollar will buy at different dates. The CPI is generally the best measure for adjusting payments to consumers when the intent is to allow consumers to purchase, at today’s prices, a market basket of goods and services equivalent to one that they could purchase in an earlier period. It is also the best measure to use to translate retail sales into real or inflation-free dollars. Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics definition. |
