Posted Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 01:00 PM PST by Mike Attebery
A recent survey from the NPD group reports that consumer spending on cable, internet, online gaming and satellite radio is up from last year.
The recession is a strong concern across all industries, but where entertainment is concerned, spending appears to be increasing during the economic downturn. Subscription based entertainment especially has seen a strong increase in the last year.
All in all, subscription based entertainment spending is up seven percent over 2008. According to the survey, 81 percent of US households subscribe to a television service such as cable or satellite, and 76 percent pay for internet subscriptions.
Not surprisingly, home video subscription services, such as Netflix, increased in popularity as well. While only 12 percent of households subscribed to one of these services last year, 13 percent reported that they subscribe this year.
Russ Crupnick, a senior analyst for the NPD, says that the recession may actually be the reason these services are faring so well. “Consumers are clearly looking to the value offered by entertainment subscriptions and like what they get for their money” he said. “New technologies and products have helped bolster data plans and other newer kinds of subscription-based service.”
When it comes down to paying $10 a month for Netflix or renting movies from Blockbuster, there’s no comparison, especially when taking streaming video into account. Crupnick says that it’s exactly that kind of mentality that’s making the subscription model so popular.
Source: NPD
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