UltraViolet awareness and satisfaction grows
December 5, 2014
By Colin Mann
Awareness and satisfaction of UltraViolet (UV) is on the rise among US consumers. According to The NPD Group’s Digital Video Adoption Monitor (UltraViolet) Report, 44 per cent of consumers have heard of UV or recognise the UV logo, a nine percentage point increase over last year. About one-third of consumers know what UV is, and when asked, consumers cited the outside packaging of DVD and Blu-ray products as the most influential source for facilitating awareness.
Among UV users, overall satisfaction has significantly increased since last year, with 91 per cent of UV users saying they are satisfied with the service, an eight percentage point improvement. The ease of setting up UV ranks very high among users, with 83 per cent describing activation as “easy” – a five percentage point increase from 2013.
As satisfaction and ease of activation increases, users are more apt to continue to add to their UV libraries. According to the report, users’ UV libraries increased from an average of eight titles to 10, and the “more engaged” UV user is also particularly likely to be purchasing more digital and physical content today than they did a year ago.
“As the physical disc represents a significant, but declining, part of the sell-through mix, UV offers a bridge for consumers to have both physical, as well as digital acquisition of video,” said Christopher Coby, Senior Industry Analyst of Entertainment for The NPD Group. “As awareness and satisfaction increases, there is clearly a segment of consumers who value the proposition that UV offers: the opportunity to keep a library as backup, have an access hub for content that is stored and may be viewed from a variety of traditional and mobile devices, and access TV and movie content acquired from a variety of retailers.”
While the vast majority of UltraViolet users are satisfied with UV, there are opportunities for further growth, and some UV users point out aspects of the service that could be improved. The need to visit multiple websites to redeem different disc-based codes and the necessity of multiple logins has been one area of difficulty. Among those who found the disc code redemption process challenging, more are reporting a lack of clarity in how to link their libraries to the various redemption sites. Enhancements that will alleviate these barriers, whether they are in the form of greater user support, or a universal redemption site, will likely play a key role in the near-term.
“UV usage is still in its early stages, and, as with any new technology, there are challenges, but there is also opportunity to grow and improve the service,” added Coby. “Content providers and retailers can work together to facilitate awareness around what UV offers. This will drive further trial and heighten satisfaction among current UltraViolet users, many of whom are video super-fans and have been buying and streaming more video lately.”