It’s been more than a year since the bottom fell out of the market here in the US, but despite the recession, certain spending trends are still on their way up. According to The NPD Group, per-capita spending on entertainment subscriptions is now up to $115 a month, with 81 percent of Americans subscribing to some type of pay-TV service. That’s a seven percent increase in spending over last year. To top it off, a quick look at Retrevo’s consumer data for TV purchases suggests that demand is spiking earlier this fourth quarter than it did in 2008. That could mean better overall numbers for TV purchasing in the holiday season.
To go along with the entertainment trend, Internet connectivity continues to hold its own regarding share of the consumer household budget. In addition to fixed-line Internet subscriptions (76% of households have them), mobile data plans are growing in popularity, hiking up to nine percent of US consumers from six percent last year. Given the momentum behind 4G technologies, I’m guessing that number will go up significantly in 2010 and 2011.
While I’d be loathe to suggest the TV and Internet industries are recession proof, the numbers this time around look good. It’s not a bad thing to be in the broadband business.
[...] incredibly, the Motorola survey found that 86 percent of Americans pay for TV services. (The NPD Group pegged the number at 81 percent this time last year.) Given the growth of DVR and VOD households, perhaps this shouldn’t be a surprise. However, [...]