onsumers are now demonstrating a clear preference for full-length feature films and TV programmes over shorter clips and trailers as their content of choice for the PC. Nearly 40% of UK consumers are already streaming or downloading audio-visual content onto computers at home and nearly half of these are doing so in the living room. Whilst this may suggest a potentially lucrative new market for rights holders and service providers, the downside is that consumers appear unwilling to pay to receive content on their home PC, with 1 in 2 not prepared to pay anything extra for streamed/downloaded content and a further 40% not willing to pay more than £5 per month.

The principal reason revealed by the Survey as to why the remaining consumers are not streaming or downloading content is because they are happy watching television "the way it is" and from a comfortable chair. These consumers still need to be educated that content which arrives on a computer is now compatible with this traditional style of "lean back" television. New devices which will allow consumers to shift content from the computer to the main television set after it has been downloaded or while it is being streamed, such as Apple's recently announced "iTV" device, should help to bridge this gap.

Consumers also appear attracted to the choice of content and viewing times offered by video on demand (VOD) services, such as those already provided by ntl/Telewest and Homechoice and shortly to be launched by BT. 38% of consumers, on top of the 12% who are already receiving VOD, state they are interested in receiving VOD on their television sets. Of these, 45% state that they are most likely to buy a VOD service from Sky, compared to 22% who would expect to buy it from a cable provider and only 4% who would expect to do so from a telco such as BT. This suggests that traditional suppliers of TV content remain well placed to capitalise on consumer demand.