Arbitron: People Who Stream Buy More CDs.

Weekly “Streamies” – people who have watched or listened to streaming media online in the past week – bought more than one and a half times the number of compact discs (CDs) in the past year than the average American, according to a new study by Arbitron Inc. and Edison Media Research.

The study, “Internet 9: The Media and Entertainment World of Online Consumers,” found that weekly Streamies bought 21 CDs in the past year, compared to the average American, who bought 13 CDs.

“While some in the record industry have viewed streaming as a threat, this research indicates that Streamies are a very lucrative group of record buyers,” said Bill Rose, vice president and general manager, Arbitron Webcast Services, Arbitron Inc.

The study also found that residential broadband adoption has doubled in just under 18 months. Those with a cable modem or DSL Internet connection at home jumped from 12 percent in January 2001 to 28 percent in July 2002.

These and other new findings from the study will be presented during a live webcast on Thursday, September 5 at 12:00 Noon EDT.

Other issues addressed in the study are:

Consumer perceptions of radio, TV, newspapers and the Internet; Internet access and online buying trends; Streaming (audio and video) usage trends;
Streaming subscription and advertising;
Usage and perceptions of local media Web sites;
Awareness and interest in satellite radio.

The findings reported here are based on a July 2002 survey consisting of 2,511 telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of Arbitron’s Spring 2002 radio diary keepers. Since 1998, Arbitron and Edison Media Research have conducted nine groundbreaking studies of the Internet and streaming media, one every six months.