The NPD Group: When It Comes to Entertainment Options, U.S. Consumers Turning to Social Networking, Texting, and Twitter

"Entertainment Trends in America" update shows U.S. entertainment content
spending outlook holding relatively steady through the holidays
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.--(Business Wire)--
According to the latest update to the "Entertainment Trends in America" tracking
study conducted by The NPD Group, a leading market research company, many
consumers expect to be spending the same amount on traditional entertainment
categories during the coming holiday season, even as their participation in
newer forms of entertainment continues to rise. The most notable increases
occurred in social networking and text messaging: More than a third (37 percent)
of respondents reported visiting a social networking site over the prior six
months, which is an increase of 11 percentage points since last year; 63 percent
reported sending and receiving text messages, which is an increase of 7
percentage points over the prior year; while 9 percent used Twitter during the
same time period.

"With a host of new, easy-to-use mobile devices and free mobile and Web
entertainment applications now widely available -- and as adult consumers get
more comfortable with these newer technologies -- we can expect to see further
increases in these areas in the months to come," said Russ Crupnick, senior
entertainment industry analyst for NPD.

The overall spending outlook for entertainment for the remainder of the year is
still reasonably stable, considering that many consumers continue to have
anxiety about the state of the economy and the employment picture. In fact in
August 2009, 66 percent of consumers reported that they planned to spend the
same amount or more on entertainment products and services in the coming 12
months than they did the prior year, which is three percentage points higher
than when the same question was asked last year. Even so the picture is not
consistent across categories, with consumers more inclined to spend money on
digital music and movies in the theater, and somewhat less willing to spend
money on CDs and DVDs.

"Although CDs have been facing challenges for years, our research shows that
video games, home video and other categories will benefit from releases that
consumers really want at prices they perceive as offering a good value," said
Crupnick. "Consumer sentiment can shift quickly with the release of powerful
titles like Halo or Transformers."

"Entertainment Trends in America" also reveals that consumers appear to be
maintaining their entertainment commitments -- such as Netflix subscriptions and
premium cable -- despite the difficult economy. "Only a tiny portion of
consumers are going off the entertainment grid," Crupnick said.

The report also pointed out demographic differences. Women have the most
conservative spending outlook, especially those in the baby-boomer and
Generation-X age ranges. Sixty-three percent of men surveyed by NPD planned to
spend more than they did last year on entertainment, versus just 37 percent of
women who reported feeling similarly.

Data note: Information in this press release was derived from The NPD Group`s
"Entertainment Trends in America" consumer tracking study update. The study,
updated twice per year, was fielded to members of NPD`s online panel from
Tuesday, August 11th through Monday, August 24, 2009. The final report is based
on 10,281 completed responses from U.S. consumers. Final survey data was
weighted to represent US population of individuals (age 13 and older). All data
was tested for statistical significance at 95 percent confidence level.

About The NPD Group, Inc.

The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and
retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,700
manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive
critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels.
NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product
development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information
is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial
technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage,
foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For
more information, contact us, visit http://www.npd.com/ or follow us on Twitter
at http://www.twitter.com/npdgroup.

Press:
The NPD Group, Inc.
Lee Graham, 212-333-4983
lee@leegraham.biz

Copyright Business Wire 2009