The Data Digest: May The Force Be With You
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’re probably aware that there was a new release in the Star Wars saga this week. I’m not a fan of science fiction and have somehow managed never to have seen a Star Wars movie in my life — so all of the discussion about what will happen to Luke, Leia, or the Jedi in ‘The Force Awakens’ is completely lost on me. But what I do find extremely interesting is the huge passion of my colleagues and friends to see this movie in a cinema — and as quickly as possible. In the US, Star Wars opens in 4,100 theaters and the movie is a leader in advance ticket sales around the world. And Star Wars is just one of the big blockbusters of 2015 — in fact, analysts expect this year to be Hollywood's biggest box-office year ever.
When we look at our North American Consumer Technographics data, we see that movies certainly have a place in US online consumers’ video behaviors; watching movies in theaters is just behind watching free and paid online video services like Netflix and Hulu.
Although we do see TV coming under a lot of pressure as a viewing medium, it will always play a big role in consumers’ lives, in whatever shape or form. As my colleague James McQuiveynotes in his report TV’s Death Is Widely Exaggerated: “TV is under pressure in this era of digital distribution, substitution, and consumption. But our read on the situation — when we consider it in light of our consumer data and our interviews with industry professionals — is that TV won't collapse under this pressure; it will adapt”. As will Luke, Leia, and the Jedi — of that I have no doubt.