The introduction of new digital platforms has led to increases in the consumption of movies and books, according to a new survey conducted by Deloitte.

The survey, which assessed media consumption preferences of 2,000 consumers in the US (aged between 14 to 75 years), revealed several significant trends.

These include increased access to content driving consumption, smartphones continuing to challenge other devices and the role of DVRs in preserving consumers’ cable and satellite television subscriptions, said Deloitte in the survey.

Access to content is increasing American media consumption. Movies are available on a wider array of platforms – home TV via cable, satellite, DVD, pay-per-view, Internet and online via streaming/downloading to a personal computer, gaming console, smartphone or tablet.

As recently as 2009, only 28 per cent of Americans reported streaming a movie; today, 42 percent report streaming.

Moreover, the number of people citing streaming delivery of a movie to their computer or television as their favorite way of watching a movie rose to 14 per cent from 4 per cent in 2009, the survey revealed.

Most tellingly, in 2007, 37 percent of people said that they had not viewed a movie, available for purchase or rental, during the past six months. In 2011, that percentage of non-consumers dropped to only 19 percent.

The phenomenon of eBook readers increasing consumer purchases of books is another encouraging sign that digital content married with new devices can increase consumption, said the Deloitte survey.

While only 23 percent of respondents preferred to be able to download their books, magazines and newspapers to a digital device in 2007, more than one-third of respondents (36 percent) now express interest in this option.

According to survey, newspapers have also benefited from increased accessibility via smartphones.

This year’s survey found that 20 per cent of leading millennials (respondents between the ages of 23 and 28) have read their favorite newspaper in the last six months on a smartphone – up from 9 per cent last year.

Eleven per cent of leading millennials have also stated that this is their favorite method for reading the newspaper – up from 3 percent last year.

'Our data shows that while Americans may be less interested in physical content, their appetite for digital content continues to grow. That appetite, coupled with the introduction of new technologies, is leading consumers to access the content they want on a number of different devices,” said Phil Asmundson, vice chairman and US media & telecommunications sector leader, Deloitte.

“Consumers may be watching fewer television shows and movies on TV, or reading fewer physical copies of books and newspapers, but they have not stopped consuming the content. They are simply watching or reading on different media or platforms,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service