According to a recent survey, consumers who watch video on their computers, mobile devices or digital media players are watching more professionally produced TV programming instead of user-generated content.
ChoiceStream’s “2007 Survey of Viewer Trends in TV and Online Video” found that 65 percent of consumers using the above devices prefer professionally produced TV programming, which includes network and cable-produced shows, news and sports. This number exceeds the 39 percent of consumers watching user-generated video by 67 percent, and the difference is expected to increase over the next six months as linear TV viewers begin to shift their viewing behavior to other devices.
The survey also found that when searching on a computer, mobile device or media player, 62 percent of consumers said that it takes at least a few minutes to find something interesting to watch. Finding the right show to watch is similarly frustrating for consumers watching programming on their TV sets, with 72 percent of all TV viewers indicating that it takes at least a few minutes to find programming that piques their interest.
According to ChoiceStream, the difficulty in finding shows and movies to watch on the TV set “is clearly costing TV service providers lost revenue as 43 percent of consumers indicate that they would watch more video on-demand and Pay-Per-View if they could find more content of interest.” This number is up 19 percent from 2006.
“The survey shows that there is an inefficient video discovery process that over time will slow the pace of change in consumers’ viewing patterns,” said ChoiceStream’s Toffer Winslow.
Toffer continued: “Consumers, especially those in the younger demographic, have grown accustomed to watching TV programs, sports, news and video at their own convenience and do not want to spend time searching for meaningful content every time they turn on their TV, PC or mobile device. It’s imperative that companies and advertisers embrace this shift and implement personalization strategies that will put relevant TV programming and video content at the consumers’ fingertips wherever they choose to watch it.”
Among other findings, the survey found that 23 percent of DVR owners watch commercials in the recorded shows either “sometimes” or “always.” The reasons for watching advertisements varied: consumers found the commercials educational (36 percent); consumers found the commercials entertaining (34 percent); and consumers found it too hard to fast-forward (19 percent).
