Don’t write-off the PVR yet
A question from the floor challenged the panel at MediaTel Group’s third “Internet Comes to TV” event in association with Rovi, to consider the perceived shift in consumer usage from PVRs to catch-up services, such as iPlayer.
The panel view was that the shift would be better for advertisers, as PVR users can fast forward through the adverts, but this is not possible on catch-up and VOD, where users have to watch the pre-roll.
Viewers continue to see it as a fair compromise to view programmes for free in return for watching one or two advertisements, according to Graeme Hutcheson, associate director at Mediacom.
Nigel Walley, managing director of Decipher, believes that there may currently be a short term shift to VOD, but long-term the PVR is not dead and should not be ignored and may well get “smarter”.
He reported that the technology in the next generation PVR boxes is moving with the times, adding that the “group record” option is especially useful, where all associated programmes to the one you are watching are set to record – the logical next step from series link.
David Brennan, founder of Media Native, stated that Thinkbox’s Tellyporting Research found that users liked PVRs for three main reasons:
- users know that their content will always be there.
- within two to three clicks on a PVR, users would be able to get to their programme, whereas VOD is often too many clicks away to make the journey to the programme worthwhile.
- with a PVR, consumers feel like they own the programme.