Online will surpass DVDs in movie viewing in the US: IHS report

MUMBAI: The year 2012 will see online movie viewing in the US surpassing digital video disc and Blu-ray sales for the first time, according to a report by IHS Screen Digest.

Legal online viewings of films will more than double to 3.4 billion this year from 1.4 billion in 2011, the report said. Physical viewings of DVDs and Blu-ray discs will shrink to 2.4 billion from 2.6 billion, according to the forecast.

The report highlights the price disparity between online purchases and movies sold in retail shops. Consumers paid an average of 51 cents for every movie consumed online, compared with $4.72 for physically purchased videos, IHS found.

Last year, unlimited-streaming subscription plans, including those offered by Netflix Inc. (NFLX) and online retailer Amazon.com (AMZN)’s Prime service, accounted for 94 per cent of all paid online movie consumption in the US, the report said.

Streamed movies have been replacing video discs much as streamed music is overtaking compact audio discs.