Digital television now has 97% awareness, and 18% of respondents intend to switch to digital television within the next year, says the latest report from CIA Sensor. However, although advertising for digital television is generating a climate of awareness, many people have yet to understand the full implications of the development and its proposed benefits.
Last weekend saw the launch of ONdigital’s digital terrestrial television (DTT) service (see Newsline), and figures by CIA show that only 10% of the UK population know what ONdigital is, as compared to 41% knowing what SkyDigital was when it first launched on 1 October (see Newsline).
As regards the status of individual digital channels, awareness of BBC Choice has increased from 16% to 39% over the past two months, and FilmFour’s is up from 10% to 33% – both increases are probably thanks to the groups’ television campaigns. ITV2 still remains a largely unknown entity at 9%.
There also appears to be a discrepancy between set-top box prices and what consumers are willing to pay. Currently the price of a set-top box stands at roughly £200, and is essential to receive satellite and terrestrial digital television. CIA Sensor discovered however, that on average people are willing to spend £47 for a set-top box, and 41% of people would not be willing to pay anything at all.
Optimistically, David Fletcher at CIA Medialab commented: “Rising familiarity is so far being matched by rising demand and Christmas could prove the perfect ‘excuse’ for many households to join the digital revolution.”
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