Survey: Blu-Ray Movie Viewing On PS3 On The Rise

According to a new Warner Home Video survey, customers are increasingly using PlayStation 3 consoles to watch Blu-Ray video content, with the percentages of both number of households and time spent watching rising from late 2007 to early 2008. Analyst group Screen Digest quotes the numbers given by Warner's home video president Ron Sanders at a recent digital entertainment conference in Paris. Sanders indicated that the amount of time PlayStation 3 users spent watching Blu-ray videos rose from 15 percent of console usage in the fourth quarter of 2007 to 23 percent in January and February of 2008. The Warner exec also said that the amount of PlayStation 3 purchasers using the console as a Blu-ray player rose significantly - from 53 percent in September of 2007 to 80 percent early in 2008. According to Screen Digest, Sanders suggested that a 2007 Sony ad campaign noting the PS3 could be used to watch movies drove household usage of Blu-Ray discs up from under 10 percent in October to 15 percent in December. However, commentators at the UK-headquartered analyst group noted: "The timing of the Warner research, which was carried out in late 2007 and early 2008, means it is impossible to quantify how much the usual Christmas gift-giving season (and subsequent increase in new BD homes) would have increased consumer spending on BDs without the promotions - or, indeed, whether the uplift is sustainable."