Parks Associates: Western Europeans show strong preferences for PC as video platform, and free content, compared to U.S. consumers

-- CONNECTIONS™ Europe analyzes consumer trends and preferences for pay-TV and video services

DALLAS, Nov. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadband penetration is above 70% in several Western European countries, and up to 30% of the broadband population in some countries prefer PCs over TVs for watching video, with a strong corresponding preference for free online video sources, according to research firm Parks Associates. In the U.S., only 13% of broadband households prefer the PC over the TV as a video platform, compared to nearly 30% in Italy and 40% in Spain.

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Parks Associates will host the seventh-annual CONNECTIONS™ Europe in Amsterdam, 13-14 November. The conference features multiple sessions on service provider strategies for online video and keynotes from Owen Hanks, GM, Mobile - Europe, YuMe; Jean C. Kiessling, Head of Business Development & Portfolio Management, Deutsche Telekom AG; and Kevin Petersen, Senior Vice President, AT&T Digital Life.

Highlights from Parks Associates' European research:

• European broadband users watch over five hours of PC video per week.
• Despite economic challenges, broadband penetration in Spain is in line with the average for the European Union.
• Pay-TV penetration among French broadband households is approximately 81%, and 58% of U.K. broadband households have pay-TV subscriptions.
• In France, 18% of current pay-TV subscribers have downgraded their service to a less expensive TV package within the last 12 months, and another 14% are likely to downgrade. U.K. pay-TV subscribers are relatively satisfied with their service; only 8% are likely to change to a new provider within the next 12 months.
• Almost 50% of Spanish broadband households and 39% of Italian broadband households have watched a full-length movie on the Internet in the past month.

"The online population in Western Europe is a significant audience for premium pay-TV and digital media services, but building revenues continues to challenge providers because consumers are largely using free sources for video viewing," said Patrice Samuels, research analyst, Parks Associates. "Operators should experiment with free on-demand programming and advertising-based offerings to promote their premium services and other products."

For information about CONNECTIONS™ Europe, visit http://www.connectionseurope.com, contact sales@parksassociates.com, +1-972-490-1113.

About Parks Associates

Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. http://www.parksassociates.com

Holly Sprague
Parks Associates
+1-720-987-6614
hsprague@gmail.com