80% of Americans prefer to watch TV on traditional set

Despite the rapid rise of video on-demand services such as Netflix, and the suggested cannibalisation of linear TV, 80% of Americans prefer to watch television on a traditional set, according to new research from BroadStream Solutions.

The survey, conducted by YouGov, revealed that 82% of respondents still regularly use their TV set to watch live programming, compared to just 14% who use a laptop, 10% a desktop, 8% and mobile phone and 7% a tablet.

The research also found that the majority of viewers (64%) like to watch their favourite shows with family or friends, rather than by themselves.

“The good news for broadcasters is that live TV still offers a clear advantage to viewers in terms of quality, screen size (thanks to low TV prices), and pure quality content,” says Ben Wolk, president, sales and marketing at BroadStream Solutions.

“The high demand for content is still growing and more channels are needed to target the precise viewing needs of individual consumers, whether it is hyper local channels in their community or town, or a dedicated channel on a specific topic of interest.”

However, Wolk said that the real problem for broadcasters is how to put in place a technology infrastructure that allows them to support the increasing desire for content in a financially viable way.

“We believe that modern, software-based playout systems such as IPS (integrated playout systems) can do much more than traditional hardware-based infrastructures,” he said.

“They take much less space, and are more cost efficient than ever before.”