Sky Introduces New Products At MRG Conference
Sky Media’s managing director, Nick Milligan, has introduced the next generation of Sky products at the Media Research Group conference in Madrid.
Amongst the products showcased by the broadcast chief were the company’s new Sky To Go portable video player and Sky Radio, designed to bring the satellite company’s digital radio services to customers around the home, rather than from just the television.
A new system of remote recording was also unveiled by the company, allowing Sky Plus users to programme their personal video recorder by mobile phone, and allowing programme sponsors a return path of advertising by way of text message promotion to interested parties.
Milligan also explained that new developments such as the Sky Plus PVR are not a threat to advertising, but rather an opportunity. He said: “Of course it will affect commercial impacts over time, but lets keep a handle on things. Sky Plus is in about 2% of Sky homes and we have found that customers with Sky Plus watch four hours more television and often keep the original box, getting 16 more hours in another room.”
Sky Plus has also proved successful in reducing churn, as Milligan revealed an overall churn rate of around 1%, compared to Sky’s standard rate of just over 9%. The broadcast boss stated that Sky hopes to have converted 25% of Sky homes into Sky Plus homes by the end of the decade.
In addition, Milligan stated that the Sky Plus system is one of the only advertising-friendly PVRs, with built-in functionality to protect advertiser messages. One such example is a limited speed fast forward, operating at a maximum that is the same as viewer awareness, ensuring that commercials are not missed completely.
According to Milligan, Sky’s new products are currently in development, with the sales house boss expecting a launch to consumers within the next 18 months.
Delivering the opening day’s keynote speech at this year’s MRG conference, Antony Young, chief executive of ZenithOptimedia, said that media research needs to concentrate more on qualitative research to deliver better return on investment. He argued that industry needs to let go of the “comfort blanket” of quantitative research and instead concentrate on delivering more insightful quantitative data (see ZenithOptimedia Chief Outlines Qualitative Research Vision).
MRG: www.mrg.org.uk
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