Survey: Consumers Willing to Pay More for 4K

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Video service providers are not only counting on consumers to make the move to 4K; they're also counting on consumers being willing to pay more for the higher-quality content. According to a new study from research firm SNL Kagan and content protection provider Irdeto, 64% of providers believe that consumers will pay between 10% and 30% more than they're currently paying for their TV or OTT package in order to get 4K content.

For the report "A Clearer Picture of Growth: 2016 Global 4K/UHD Industry Survey," SNL Kagan surveyed 475 video service providers, including pay TV and OTT operators, worldwide. By 2018, 78% of respondents say they will have launched 4K content, and 88% plan to launch it by 2020.

Though OTT providers like Netflix and Amazon have led the way with early-to-market 4K content, survey respondents believe that connected TVs are driving the most consumption, with internet streaming boxes like Roku and Amazon Fire TV coming in second.

Not surprisingly, live sports is expected to be the most popular form of 4K content, but the report says that pay TV providers are also considering offering more early release movies in 4K.

The complete report is available for download here.

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