• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, October 10, 2004

Broadband users are interested in downloading entertainment-oriented videos to their hard drives for playback on demand, according to a study sponosored by the Cambridge, Mass.-based software company Maven Networks. For the study, research firm OTX Research interviewed 1,000 broadband users between the ages of 13 and 64 in August.

Participants were especially intrigued by downloading movies, with a full 33 percent of respondents saying they would be most interested in using the technology for storing movies on their hard drives. The next most popular choice was automobiles, with 14 percent saying they would be most interested in seeing videos of cars on their hard drives. Just 7 percent named previews or trailers as the product they were most interested in downloading, while a scant 5 percent chose downloading television shows to their hard drives.

But consumers might have to wait a while before they can download entire feature-length films to their computers. The typical video is still just 5-10 minutes long, said Tonie Hansen, Maven's director of marketing.

Besides, said Maven, the company's plans for the technology are geared toward so-called "branded entertainment," such as the American Express-sponsored Web skits featuring comedian Jerry Seinfeld and an animated Superman, said Hansen.

She said the company intends to work with marketers to develop such branded entertainment--though it will probably forego traditional television-style 15- or 30-second ads. The typical consumer, said Hansen, "is not going to go through a download just to watch a TV commercial."