Porn Tops Video Download Preferences

 
By Sherri December 23, 2006



It’s been a huge year for video downloads with television networks coming out of the woodwork to jump on the bandwagon. We started out the year with only a handful of sites offering legal downloads and now we have a bevy of sites to choose from and just about every major network offers downloads or streams in some form or fashion.

Sadly, however, research out of the NPD Group, which monitors digital video activity on home computers, shows that porn is the favorite of many downloaders. TV programs, however, also top the list.

According to a report in Pocket Lint, about eight percent of households are downloading videos from P2P sites and only about two percent pay for downloads. Apple’s iTunes was the big winner in the paid for category, accounting for 90 percent of the paid downloads made. Apple was followed by Vongo, CinemaNow and a few others.

What’s interesting to note is the fact that about 60 percent of downloads fall in as television shows with about six percent being movies.

The trouble lies with the P2P site users and their preferences. Although a 60 percent of the downloads from P2P sites were adult-content, or porn clips and flicks, the remaining downloads are pirated TV shows and movies, according to the research.

“While video P2P downloading is less pervasive right now than for music, it is a crucial issue for the film industry to keep track of,” said Russ Crupnick, VP for The NPD Group. “Even though right now the majority of downloaded video content is adult-film content, the amount of intellectual property stolen from mainstream movie studios, networks, and record labels will continue to rise, unless strong and sustained action is taken to prevent piracy.”

Make no mistake though, movie studios and networks are taking the piracy issue seriously. The embattled state of YouTube and other P2P networks is the proof in the pudding.

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