More & More UK Adults Prefer Home Cinema To Going Out

As the nights grow longer during the winter months, a significant number of Brits prefer to spend time at home enjoying the home entertainment systems they’ve put together rather than head out to the pub or cinema, according to a new research commissioned by the British Video Association (BVA).

YouGov – the London-based online market research firm – carried out two internet surveys on behalf of the BVA last month. The first survey took place between the 8th and 11th of October with a sample size of 2151 adults, whereas the second one was conducted among 1983 adults between the 15th and 18th of October. The survey results were properly weighted to be demographically representative of UK adults aged above 18.

The surveys revealed that more than half of the respondents have spent money on some form of home entertainment devices or services in the last couple of years. 28% invested in HDTV displays; one-fifth bought video game consoles like Sony Playstation 3 (PS3) or Microsoft Xbox 360; 17% subscribed to satellite TV (e.g. Sky) or cable TV (for example Virgin Media) services; and one in ten purchased Blu-ray players (presumably this statistic excluded the Sony PS3 which can also playback Blu-ray discs).

Besides trying to reproduce the cinema experience in home surroundings, one of the main reasons why respondents splashed out on home entertainment gear over the past two years is to take advantage of improvements in audio and image quality, with 27% seeking to enjoy high-definition picture and sound which have become more widely available in recent years.

Somewhat surprisingly, more than a-quarter of respondents believed that watching TV or movies (DVD or Blu-ray) in their living room actually helped them hang around and spend more time with loved ones. When all these factors are taken into account, it comes as no surprise that 73% of the Britain adults spend at least one hour a day staying in to enjoy their home cinema.