Richer Digital Media Offerings Needed to Spur German Home Networking Offerings

Parks Associates’ research indicates companies need to develop and market richer digital media offerings in order to spur the German home networking market. “While home network penetration has grown in Germany, there has not been an upsurge comparable to France or the U.K.,” said John Barrett, director of research, Parks Associates. “More competition combined with digital media offerings such as video-on-demand, IPTV, and multiroom DVR are required to promote greater adoption of home networks.”

Parks Associates’ Global Digital Living (GDL), which surveyed households worldwide on their technology use and attitudes, finds:

• Among the surveyed countries, Germany has one of the lowest percentages of households who download or upload videos to P2P websites on a monthly basis. Germans are also less likely to watch videos via video sharing sites.
• Among the European countries surveyed, Germany has the lowest percentage of households who watch purchased DVDs on a monthly basis. Conversely, among all the surveyed countries, Germany has the highest percentage of households who watch movies on broadcast TV.

These and other GDL findings map consumer patterns and areas of opportunity, essential factors for companies looking to advance the markets for digital products and media. To this end, several CONNECTIONS™ Europe sessions will focus on the role of TV-centric devices and examine the evolution of interactive services, the role of Web content, and the features and applications that will move television from a one-to-many to a one-to-one experience.

CONNECTIONS™ Europe provides thorough examination and understanding of advanced technologies and services for residential and mobile environments, including digital entertainment, IPTV, telco TV, set-top boxes, advanced communications across mobile and landline platforms, and home management and its corollary services.