The personal video recorder (PVR) is significantly changing the way in which people watch television, with 5% of current TV viewing in the US time-shifted, predicted to rise to 10% by the end of next year and 25% by 2008.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Dr Robert Pepper, senior managing director of global advanced technology policy at Cisco Systems revealed his predictions for the PVR age, saying the medium had become more ubiquitous.
Pepper explained: “With the PVR being built into a variety of devices, its just going to be easier. TV viewing habits will change so your TV viewing will begin to look like how people use their iPods, making unique playlists for example.”
“This trend”, he continued, “is leading to more consumer choice, control and convergence.”
Over the next five years PVRs are set to enjoy massive growth, with penetration expected to reach over 11% of television households worldwide, according to a report from Informa Media (see PVRs Causing Increasing Threat To Advertisers).
According to Pepper, “personalisation of communications is a very important driver from the user perception, with the current trend within the market leading away from mass media and more towards personalisation.
The managing director also told delegates to watch out for online gambling, saying “gambling in terms of the online world is a very big deal.”
Juniper Research predicts lotteries, betting and casino style gambling to generate over $2 billion for the mobile phone industry in 2006 (see Gambling To Generate Over $2 Billion By 2006 For Mobile Phone Industry).
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