TIMING IS MONEY - EVALUATING THE EFFECTS OF EARLY AVAILABILITY OF FEATURE FILMS VIA VIDEO ON DEMAND

摘要

Based on survey data from 489 German potential Video On Demand users this research explores effects of early movie availability on consumers' utility, their willingness to pay, and copyright violations. Using a triangulation approach, we employed adaptive conjoint analysis and contingent valuation methodologies. Our results show substantially increased utility levels and greater willingness to pay for Video On Demand services that offer movies simultaneously with or shortly before the first official theatrical release. Our findings bear similarities to results from experiments on hyperbolic discounting, a concept from the field of behavioral economics. Diverging from classic microeconomic theory, immediate consumption seems to be valued irrationally high. This effect is even stronger for copyright violators. Implications both for future academic research and for the motion picture industry are drawn.