Well over half of the 16 million UltraViolet (UV) users in the US are now viewing their content on a TV.
TVs with an integrated internet-connection and connected Blu-ray players are among the favored platforms for this activity, according to Wave 2 of The NPD Group’s UltraViolet report.
The report found that as of February 2014, 61% of the US UV user population has watched a movie from their cloud-based UV library on a TV, a 43% increase from the 43% who had reported doing so in August 2013. The largest gains were made viewing on internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players, with streaming media players and gaming consoles also showing growth. A UV user can stream or download their purchased movie and TV shows via the cloud onto their TV or connected device. Moreover, satisfaction with UV among users is near 90%, and 82% plan to continue using the service in the future.
This TV-centric viewing is complementing the 72% of UV users who view their UV movies on computers, and 60% who use tablets. 78% of UV users cite device interoperability as an important or very important feature in their use of UV.
“Device interoperability has always been a key value proposition of UltraViolet. The proliferation of UV users accessing UV movies on their TV and across a broad array of connected devices demonstrates this utility,” said Justin Bailey, director, industry analysis.
The report showed that UV users can be categorized as early adopters, or even super consumers, meaning they have advanced video and device purchasing and usage habits compared to the general American consumer that may indicate trends and behavior to expect in the future. A person who has signed up for UV currently spends three times more on home entertainment content, such as physical or digital TV shows and movies, than the average home entertainment buyer. A UV user is four times more likely to own a streaming media device or a connected Blu-ray player and is 11 times more likely to have made an electronic sell-through digital movie purchase in the last year.
A final point, UV users are not shy when it comes to stocking up on connected hardware. On average, those in the UV camp own eight connected devices compared to five for the general population.
“As consumers’ ownership of connected devices increases, UltraViolet’s role in supporting device interoperability should continue to grow,” said Bailey.
The report summarizes key findings from a 5,802 UltraViolet-respondent survey conducted in February 2014. Additionally, data was collected from 9,490 respondents from NPD’s online survey panel, most of whom were not registered for UltraViolet. Data from this survey group was weighted to represent U.S. population age 18+.
