Broadband woes drive UK, US consumers to demand SVOD downloads

Broadband woes drive UK, US consumers to demand SVOD downloads
Michelle Clancy
| 18 August 2018

Thanks to slow internet connections, four in five SVOD users in the UK and US say the ability to download videos from their favourite service is important to them.

nscreen 18 august 2018According to a white paper from nScreenMedia, a full 82% of SVOD users in the UK and 79% in the US said that being able to download a video for offline viewing is important; but more strikingly, 58% of UK and 55% of US users said the functionality was actually very important. Perhaps it’s no surprise then that half of UK SVOD streamers take advantage of download at least monthly.

The high interest in video downloads reflects the fact that problems with last-mile delivery still make video streaming difficult or impossible in many situations. Over half of consumers now consider streaming to be a natural part of their TV habit. And, they expect streaming video service providers (VSPs) to deliver wherever and whenever they want to watch.

Unfortunately, there are many situations where wireless, Wi-Fi and broadband are unavailable or provide only marginal coverage – and all too often, quality problems persist.

Also, even though it for now applies only to a small segment of the population, many services lack the consistent bandwidth needed to stream an Ultra HD film reliably. For example, only 8% of Idaho broadband connections can deliver 25 Mbps or more.

According to the analysis, signs indicate that last-mile delivery isn’t likely to improve anytime soon. 5G, which is beginning to roll out in the US later this year, could take five to ten years before it achieves the penetration and coverage that 4G provides today. It’s a similar situation with Wi-Fi hotspots and ultra-fast broadband technology like fibre.

“The painful truth for VSPs is that when streaming fails they often end up shouldering the blame,” the report noted. “So, they simply can’t wait around for new technologies to deliver partial fixes for the problem. They must act now. Specific solutions ... include video downloads, pre-emptive caching, encoder upgrades and user quality controls.”