Broadband News

Internet ‘essential’ for entertainment, survey finds

Wednesday 11 January, 2012

By Duncan Heaney

Broadband also offers “most value for money”.

A new report, commissioned by Virgin Media, has found that British consumers value digital entertainment above other activities.

The survey quizzed over 2,000 Brits about how they spend money on different forms of entertainment, including meals out, DVDs, trips with the family and music concerts, and how important they think they are.

Broadband emerged as the most popular source of entertainment. Almost half of participants (45%) described broadband as “essential” and something they “couldn’t live without”. Fewer than three in 10 saw broadband as unimportant, or something they never use.

Broadband was also named as offering most value for money. Nine out of 10 people questioned claimed they had saved money online. The top way they’d saved money was through comparison sites, with 64% benefitting from the ability to compare multiple deals.

Just behind that was online shopping (63%), followed by using auction sites (50%) and viewing news online instead of buying a newspaper (39%).

In fact, digital entertainment performed strongly throughout the survey. 60% of consumers described mobile phones as “important” or “essential” sources of entertainment, and 51% said the same about digital TV.

Brits aren’t content to just sit around at home though. A full 63% of participants classed eating out as essential or important. The survey also found that the majority of people (48%) would spend the biggest chunk of their entertainment budget on restaurants and cafes.

Professor Michael Hulme, from Lancaster University, commented: “Even when considering value for money, whilst eating out ... ranks very highly, it is only on an equal footing with broadband. “To ‘miss out’ on the internet is for an increasing majority of people to miss out on part of their lives.”

He added: “Using price comparison sites, shopping online or even taking fewer physical trips and saving on travel costs mean that ... entertainment services such as broadband effectively pay for themselves.”

Photo by aubergene