Live TV more popular than VOD via tablets in UK
Live TV continues to drive the video consumption market in the UK, despite the availability of video on-demand (VOD) services, according to new research from QuickPlay Media.
Regardless of device used for viewing, the research revealed that more than four in ten (42%) consumers still only watch live content, compared to 28% and 29% of those questioned in Canada and the US, respectively.
In the QuickPlay Consumer Survey 2013 which took a sample of 1,800 UK, American and Canadian adults aged 18-60 years, half of respondents selected live TV as their viewing preference over VOD.
Perhaps surprisingly, three quarters of respondents in 2013 admitted to only watching live TV on a smartphone, compared to those in the US where 46% watch more VOD than live TV.
A similar result is also seen when looking at video consumption across tablet devices, with 59% of UK consumers watching more live content than VOD, compared to only 44% and 27% of US and Canadian respondents, respectively.
More than four in five consumers who watch sporting events and news said that they prefer to watch these types of content live across all three regions while in contrast, the largest preference for VOD is for movie consumption – with less than half of consumers in the UK (40%) and US (49%) ranking this as a key preference.
Interestingly, consumers’ love for live TV comes despite VOD services being rated as easy to use by 94% of UK respondents, while boasting a better content selection than live services (78% and 59%, respectively) as well as being more convenient (96% and 79%, respectively).
Amongst all three countries, premium content was ranked highly, with over 40% of respondents saying that they would be willing to pay for a wide selection of TV channels and direct access to film releases. The same percentage said that they would be willing to pay for ‘excellent quality’.
In terms of advertising, more than 40% said that they did not pay attention to advertising while watching content on devices. However, over 20% of respondents said that they would be willing to pay between approximately £3 and £5 per month for advertising-free access to streaming premium video content.
Nikki Gore, vice president of marketing at QuickPlay Media said: “Mobile viewing figures around the 2012 Olympic Games suggested that live TV was going to become an increasingly important differentiator for successful multiscreen services and these results highlight just that.
“Consumers want and expect to be able to view video content in real time, wherever they are, and whatever device they choose to watch it from.”
Gore added that to ensure long term success, service providers must factor in both the right content and also the right systems to offer live content to consumers without compromising quality of experience.
If quality of programming is improved and network connections become faster, video services will become ‘increasingly sticky’ across customer bases, ultimately reducing churn and “paving the way for service expansion in months and years to come,” Gore concluded.