Informa Media, a media & IT consulting group is predicting (and we have no reason to doubt their prognostications) that web-connected TVs will out-sell video gaming consoles in the U.S. this year - 52 million connected TVs vs. 37 million game consoles (X-Box, PlayStation, Wii).
They further forecast that by 2016 sales of all internet streaming devices will reach 1.8 billion units (TVs, SmartPhones, tablets, BluRays, etc.) equating to a 800% increase over current sales and representing 70% of all video devices being sold.
The consumer's desire to access content via streaming services such as Netflix, WebTV, iPlayer, Hulu, and many others yet to enter the game will mainstream content delivery. This will not be a plus for cinema exhibition, and as we have stated in the past: cinemas need to change their business model if they are to survive and prosper. The genie is out of the bottle and there is no putting it back. Many cinemas have converted to Digital Cinema for projection of movies, many still have not. If you have not converted, don't - D-Cinema, as a digital delivery system is now obsolete as content streaming via connected to the web devices will be the mode of content delivery and playback will be via commercial video projectors (in 3D or not) which cost a fraction of the investment of a D-Cinema platform.
Entertainment Equipment Corp., the company I manage, will be there to assist cinema owners and operators at what EEC does best: consult and train. Content streaming is developing fast. Cinemas need to move forward in understanding how this will impact their operations and what strategic decisions they need to make to cope, use, and take advantage of this coming technological wave.
In less than 15 years, the internet has changed the way the world works, communicates, learns, informs, entertains, socializes, and we are (to my mind) at Day One in this process - there is still a long way to go.
Best and Happy Movie Going!
Jim Lavorato
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