Consumers are willing to watch advertising in order to download videos for free, says a new survey by the British Internet Broadcasting Company, BIBC.

Fifty-five per cent of those surveyed would watch adverts if it meant they could download video without paying. Nearly three-quarters of 18- to 24-year-olds said they'd prefer an ad-funded business model, while 34% of those aged between 35 and 44 said they would pay to avoid watching adverts.

Meanwhile, more than 4 out of 5 respondents are now willing to download content from the internet, ad-supported or not.

According to a previous study by the BIBC showed that 35% of those surveyed were discouraged from paying for downloaded content because it wasn't cheaper than buying a hard copy.

"There is a huge potential here for content owners and aggregators to make larger profits through an increased number of downloads, for advertisers to tap into a new captive market, and of course, the consumer gets what he wants for free", commented Paul Hague, managing director of BIBC.