Nhan Bowen and Bartula (2019)
Contents
Source Details
| Nhan Bowen and Bartula (2019) | |
| Title: | A comparison of a public and private university of the effects of low-cost streaming services and income on movie piracy |
| Author(s): | Nhan, J., Bowen, K., Bartula, A. |
| Year: | 2019 |
| Citation: | Nhan, J., Bowen, K. And Bartula, A. (2019) A comparison of a public and private university of the effects of low-cost streaming services and income on movie piracy. Technology in Society. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2019.101213 |
| Link(s): | Definitive |
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| About the Data | |
| Data Description: | Data were obtained from a survey of 395 students (total) from a North Texas public university and private university. Surveys were offered over an extended time frame (two years) to allow for accurate comparisons, which also correlated with an increase in the popularity of streaming services. Likert scale questions were used to determine the respondents’ frequency of illegal/legal streaming as well as demographic information. In particular, the survey sought to discern the financial security of the respondents (e.g. household income). |
| Data Type: | Primary data |
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| Cross Country Study?: | No |
| Comparative Study?: | No |
| Literature review?: | No |
| Government or policy study?: | No |
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Abstract
“This paper examines factors that affect online movie piracy activity. Specifically, the authors examine the impact of inexpensive legal streaming services, such as Netflix, and household family income as well as gender. A sample of college students at a private university, representing a more affluent population, are compared with students from a public institution. Initial findings indicate differences between the two samples. Lastly, although digital piracy is reduced among the samples, it does still exist suggesting a much more complex issue than previously thought.”
Main Results of the Study
Most students report streaming services being their primary means of digital consumption, with a preference for Netflix (94% of private school students and 85% of public).
The most popular form of piracy amongst students was streaming movies (48% from private university and 28% of public university), with downloading and P2P file-sharing less common.
Students reported the increase in low-cost streaming services as having impacted their piracy activity, with over half of respondents indicating they’d stopped piracy due to access to these services.
There are some indications of differences in piracy between genders, with more men engaging in piracy than women, particularly for downloading and P2P sources.
Surprisingly, the study finds that the need to pirate does not decrease as income levels rise; private university students in fact pirate more than public. As such, the study concludes that motivations for piracy are not purely price sensitive or rational.
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
Whilst the study does not offer any explicit policy suggestions, the author concludes that piracy may be a “much more complex issue than previously thought”, with enforcement measures and low-cost streaming services failing to completely eliminate piracy.
Coverage of Study
Datasets
| Sample size: | 395 |
| Level of aggregation: | Students |
| Period of material under study: | July 2016 - January 2018 |
