A recent report by The NPD Group (http://wwww.npdgroup.com), a market research company, shows that no one — not even Apple — should underestimate the Mac or the Blu-ray market.
According to NPD’s report, as the industry grows consumers are beginning to access a broader array of content and services, and they are doing so from more devices. Although 75%of U.S. consumers (age 13 and older) did not connect or download content in the previous three months, 15% connected and downloaded content via a Mac or PC; 6% connected with a video-game player; 4% connected via smartphone; and 2% connected via a Blu-ray Disc (BD) player or a digital video player, like the Apple TV or Roku.
With their low prices and rising penetration BD stands to be a prime avenue to deliver broadband content to the consumer’s living room, says Russ Crupnick, vice president and senior entertainment analyst for NPD. Connected televisions are also experiencing increasing penetration, particularly among large-screen televisions.
Devices with associated services, like XBox Live and Amazon’s Kindle store, are driving content associated with particular types of devices, but owners are consuming more general content, as well; for example, smartphone platforms are increasingly accessing a range of media services, from games to music to video to productivity apps.