Attitudes about paying for streaming video and audio content on the Web seem to be getting more positive, and technology advisory company RampRate has teamed with Chicago market researcher Synovate to see just how much warmer the attitudes are becoming.
RampRate says the last time the two firms surveyed the question, about a third of 1,183 respondents said they didn't mind paying for streaming online content, while about two-thirds of the remainder said the Net should remain a freebie. The same survey said about 11 percent of paying content subscribers preferred pay-per-view to monthly subscription.
"Given that enormous changes are occurring in the marketplace, we've embarked on this research initiative to get even closer to users and to add more value to content providers and aggregators," said RampRate chief executive officer Tony Greenberg in a statement. "In order to drive e-commerce into the hearts and minds of consumers, content providers need an accurate picture of where those attitudes may be, at any given time.
Greenberg also said content providers, too, have to control, market, and manage their goods toward consumer expectations, if they want streaming content to yield steady business models. "As new, low-cost delivery mechanisms come online and rights management issues are resolved, a service industry is emerging to measure, track and report -- and that's a sure sign of a robust future for streaming," he said. "We're confident that our applied research efforts will help shape that future."
