NEW YORK: More consumers are viewing more online video content and more of them are willing to pay for faster connections to ensure a trouble-free viewing experience.

The Accenture Digital Consumer Survey surveyed 23,000 consumers in 23 countries about their daily consumption of online content across a number of devices and video screens. The results showed, said the consulting firm, that the media and entertainment landscape was being reshaped as over-the-top (OTT) content such as that offered by third parties such as Netflix gained a hold.

The number of addressable screens was likely to expand rapidly, as 25% of respondents indicated they would purchase a connected TV in the next 12 months, while another 11% intended to replace an existing one. Further, 12% planned to purchase a tablet.

The survey also found widespread viewing of full-length movies and TV shows over the internet: 44% did so daily and 39% weekly.

This level was achieved despite the fact that 86% reported streaming interruptions and 71% noted considerable slowdowns in the viewing experience. The frustrations were also evident in the finding that 60% of those streaming video at home were willing to pay for a faster connection; a similar proportion (62%) said they would pay more for better quality so they could view videos whenever and wherever they liked.

As well as being good news for content and service providers, "the fact that consumers are also willing to pay more for the content itself is a huge vote of confidence in the validity of over-the-top services," according to Gavin Mann, Accenture's global broadcast industry lead.

The report noted that consumers wanted all of their content to be seamlessly bundled: when asked to express their preference for a non-traditional broadcaster to provide them access to video, respondents selected Google, Apple and Samsung, in that order.

The selections were based on the companies' potential to deliver Pay TV, VOD and Catch-up TV, said the report, not on the current core capabilities of these companies.

"It is no coincidence that the three most popular brands also have the largest market share of phones and tablets," said Mann. "Tomorrow's high performers will be those that combine art and technology," he added.

For now, digital content is being mostly consumed in the home as bandwidth constraints outside the home have limited mobile entertainment to a significant degree.

"There is a significant opportunity here for providers that can offer a truly mobile video experience regardless of location," observed Mann.

Data sourced from Accenture; additional content by Warc staff