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Global porn consumption escalates

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 01 Jul 2015
The consumption of adult content videos is set to grow, says Juniper Research.
The consumption of adult content videos is set to grow, says Juniper Research.

Globally, over 136 billion adult videos will be watched in 2015 alone, with the figure set to grow to 193 billion by 2020.

That's according to Juniper Research's recent study - Digital Adult Content: Market Trends, Forecasts and Revenue Opportunities 2015-2020 - which focuses solely on the market for adult content known as erotica or pornography.

The research firm attributes the growth to adult content consumption to the proliferation of mobile devices. On a global scale, it notes, each smartphone user of adult content is expected to watch an average of 348 videos this year.

The US will see the biggest growth in traffic with video views forecast to grow by almost 55% by 2020 in the country.

While there will be a marked increase in usage levels in developing markets, net growth will be greatest in the US, with other mature markets - such as Western Europe, seeing a more modest increase.

In developing regions, the research firm says, service uptake will be rapid, driven by increasing availability of 4G and WiFi, as well as increases in smartphone and tablet ownership.

It expects revenue growth to be steady rather than spectacular over the next five years, but specific niches such as video chat and Web cam offerings will outperform the overall sector. The research observed such services were being monetised on a subscription rather than a pay-per-view basis. It says a significant proportion of users prefer to revisit the same hostess as a rationale underpinning this trend.

However, it cautions that subscription revenue would begin to decline by 2020 due to the continued prevalence and accessibility of free content.

Steffen Sorrell, senior analyst at Juniper Research, says the proliferation of adult content is growing as a vast amount is free.

"We also are seeing a growing tendency for users to favour mobile devices and tablets, rather than the more traditional method of viewing adult videos on desktop PCs. As these devices become more readily available in developing regions in parallel with improved Internet access, we will see viewership increase," he says.

Sorrell notes content producers have struggled to capitalise on the growth in recent years, with monetisation being an issue. "We've seen an increased uptake towards video chat services, where customers show a preference for a particular host.

"Altering the business model is a further idea - only a tiny minority of site visitors convert into paying traffic. It may be more lucrative for service providers to migrate from a subscription plan to an ad-based model to create the opportunity to generate higher revenues from traffic."

Regarding under-aged consumers accessing adult content, Sorrell points out there have been numerous government-led efforts to prevent underage access - for example, in the UK, major ISPs have voluntarily agreed to offer a Web filter following governmental pressure, which customers must opt-out of.

However, he says, as with any Internet censoring attempt, there are ways for the tech-savvy to circumvent these measures.

"There will inevitably be a proportion of viewers who are underage. In the past, credit card registration had been another method of preventing this. Presently, adult video providers use disclaimers warning of the legal aspects, putting the responsibility on the viewer rather than the content providers themselves."

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