Focus Group Interview
A Focus Group interview was conducted at researchers place. The participants were mostly Friends who had gathered. All the 7 participants were sitting in the round sofas and few chairs where they were asked to express their opinion on Theatre entertainment vs Home Entertainment networks such as Netflix / Amazon. The researcher sat on chair to listen to others without participation. The participants where explained that the research is part of academic study based on customers view on retail chain cinema experience. The researcher informed them that the data will be used for research purpose only and that their participation is voluntary and they may quit anytime they want. The researcher set the question to express their opinion of their preferences for Theatre vs Home Entertainment and why. All the responses were recorded on phone which were than edited and analysed with help of content analysis.
Respondent 1 Karthick: High ticket prices, over priced snack bar, screaming babies, cell phone ringing, chair kicking neighbors, etc. Are some reasons a lot of people are avoiding the movie theaters and signing up for Netflix. Granted you have to wait for new release movies but the trade off is no waiting in lines, saving money, being able to have dinner while watching and drinking beer.
Its always been the chairs. The couch really is infinitely more comfortable. It's the shoes. No shoes worn at home is infinitely more comfortable. And panamas movies are always better in pyjamas :) Plus it helps if you have an awesome Blu Ray home theater system! Just my opinion as I know others who likes the crowd and energy from the audience.
I believe that steaming services are the future of media i would love to see internet cinemas and theaters. I think is a great idea for the industry I believe that Netflix and Amazon which are global must make more similar deals and of course must develop and locals players
Respondent 2 Indy: That's exactly why I got Netflix. Plus, blockbuster is £5 per movie and I have the get any 3 movies out at a time for only £15 a month... so after 3 movies (which I can watch in a week) it's paid off already. Plus, it sucks when you pay £10 to go to a movie now just to not like it. Then you feel ripped off... or that you should've waited till it came out. Well, now that you rent the movie you don't have that "ripped off" feeling. And if you think "I have to watch this movie, though, it looks soo good" well, there's so many movies out at one time that in no time it'll come out on video... just the other day I swear Twilight came out in theaters... now I'm waiting for it to arrive in the mail. lol
Respondent 3 Francis: For action movies that I anticipate will be very good e.g.The Dark Knight, Hellboy 2, etc I think it's worth it to go to the theater to get the sensory experience that no home theater can replicate. For any other movies (comedy etc) where the sensory experience is not as important I watch them at home.
When the Doctor Who movie came out in 2013, I sat in a packed Cinema wearing Fezzes and 3D glasses. Sure, I could have watched it at 4am that morning (or later that afternoon) ... or buy the 3D blu ray within a week but no... I chose the theatre experience because in that case, it was an experience. It's the same reason that people go to concerts even though they have the CD (or the music video). People will go out for the right film and the right experience.
Respondent 4 Jarome: I'm in the same boat as Jeremy. For can't miss, highly anticipated ACTION movies (Ironman, Dark Knight, etc.) I prefer watching films in the theatre. For everything else, there's DVD or pay per view on cable. Can't beat homemade popcorn and a comfy couch. Personally I don't care for Netflix. 99% of the time the new releases are not available. And I find that incredible annoying. When Netflix can enable downloading movies at high quality to my computer with no hiccups and no waiting period, they will get my business.
Respondent 5 Sandy: I love Netflix. The last time I was in a theatre the people next to me left their kids' dirty diapers on the floor in front of them. We had to step over the mess to get to the aisle. Once we got outside their was a small mob trying to tell this couple to go pick up their diapers. The dad flipped them off. Lucky kids of theirs with those role models.
Food can be very cheap. you can pause and have bathroom breaks, or answer the phone. or have friends over and make it a movie night. if you paid say 15.00 for a movie, it can still be cheaper than going to the movies.
Respondent 7 Rocky: Netflix's share of the home entertainment market has been propelled by making a more attractive product that comes with no ads. Meanwhile, show up 20 minutes early to claim a decent seat at Regal Cinemas and you'll experience their nauseating FirstLook - a poorly-masked advertisement - blaring so loud you can't maintain a conversation.
Respondent 8 Charuta: That's not to say there aren't amazing companies pushing the boundaries in technological advances in theater projection and sound. Whenever IMAX and Dolby showcase their incredible new products I'm blown away, but unfortunately that tech gets put into specialty theaters with increased ticket costs, which consistently gives opening box office numbers a nice bump. And specialty screens are perfect for Hollywood's franchises films, built around their customers' fanboy tendencies, with the message of "for few pound more you'll get the full experience." OK, but for £15, can't I see the same movie projected properly?
I don't think the theaters will ever go away! I still go one or twice a month. For some reason theater popcorn and Coke is the best. They must have some special magic. I also like seeing the trailers before the movie starts. Really gets me into it.