iPhone users are among the heaviest users of digital content and are more willing than any other consumer to pay for it, according to a UK survey.
The poll found that 19% of iPhone users watch on-demand TV, compared with 3% of the total, and 37% want to access on-demand TV via their handset, compared with the 11% average.
The study of 1500 British adults and teenagers carried out by Olswang, a media and technology law firm, and YouGov, found iPhone users were also more willing to use micropayments or subscriptions to pay for content.
Olswang said the survey showed that the iPhone is changing consumer behavior.
“Having discovered the habit and simplicity of paying for apps and other services on the iPhone, it would seem that iPhone owners are also more willing to pay for content of many types than the general online population,” said partner Matthew Phillips.
While 58% of adults said they users were willing to make a micropayment to watch a new movie, that figure leapt to 73% for iPhone users.
“Consumers are also surprisingly willing to pay for some content which they currently get for free, such as catch-up of the last seven days of TV,” Olswang said.
However, only 19% of adults – and 30% of iPhone users – were willing to make micropayments or take out subscriptions for news content.
It appears consumers can be taught to pay, “just so long as it is easy and painless and that they value what they receive in return,” said Olswang’s John Enser. “However, newspaper owners have an uphill struggle to convince consumers to pay.”