Online Movie Downloads: Cost More Than $3? Expect More Pirating

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Movie and television makers looking to make your fortunes through online distribution, beware: Users may be willing to pay for their entertainment, but a new study suggests that they’ll only do so as long as it’s the right price – one that’s far lower than what’s currently being asked.

A PriceWaterhouseCoopers study shows that, while 76 percent of those polled are willing to consider paying for their media downloads, they are only willing to do so if television episodes are less than $1, and movies less than $3. In addition, 81% of respondents admitted that they are likely to download pirated material in the next six months. Interestingly, the study also found that legal ad-supported websites streaming content “may be causing confusion as to what is pirated content and what is legitimate, free content,” and that users apparently prefer streaming content – legal or pirated – to downloading it to keep.

The study was conducted last September, and the study group consisted of 202 American adults.

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