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Viewers across the US, UK and China expect “unprecedented” levels of control over the entertainment they consume, according to Edelman’s annual entertainment study.
The study shows a distinct rise in “selfie-style” content centered on immediate gratification that can be shared across social networks, noted Gail Becker, president, strategic partnerships and global integrations at Edelman.
Unsurprisingly, instant-gratification is being fueled by the rise in on-demand content and “binge-watching” that has taken a strong hold in all markets (94% in the US, 89% in the UK and 99% in China). People’s primary drivers for binge-watching are to “know what happens next” and to “feel caught up” — showing the trend, at some level, satisfies internal needs, the study points out.
When it comes to multi-screen behavior, the biggest change is how willing consumers are to interact with an app or website to supplement the programming. This is most pronounced for “live” events, entertainment events and national crisis. Half of respondents are likely to use an app or website to interact with the content if it was designed by the creator (56% US, 46% UK and 81%China) or not designed by the creator (52% US, 44% UK and 71% China).
Interestingly, the study also showed that consumers are most likely to share entertainment content to express opinions (US and UK: 56%; China: 63%) and express excitement about things in their lives (US 46%; UK 40%; China 75%). US and UK consumers are five times more likely than those in China to warn others not to waste time or money on content that is not entertaining, but those numbers are relatively weak (US 22%, UK 21% vs. China 4%).
Now in its eighth year, the annual Edelman Entertainment Study was conducted online April 2-16, 2014 among 18 to 54-year-old consumers in China, the UK and the US. The sample comprised 3,000 respondents: 1,000 each in the US, UK, and China.
