KnowHow launch today? Not that you’d know it
The latest video-on-demand service for the UK launched this morning, called KnowHow, which as reported yesterday is intended to allow viewers to watch and buy from a library of films and TV shows directly from their TVs, smart phones, laptops and tablets. So how has launch day been?
The press release sounded extremely exciting and a particularly smart commercial idea on the part of Dixons Group. All connected devices sold from within Currys and PC World will have the KnowHow software demonstrated to prospective customers in-store and will have KnowHow already pre-loaded in any sold products, putting KnowHow one step ahead of competitors such as LoveFilm and Netflix.
So this morning I thought I would check out the service. Googling KnowHow took me to the KnowHow home page. Sadly however there is very little presence on that home page to suggest that there may even be a VoD service. Once you get through the washing machine repairs and computer advice, however, there is a link in the top right bar for KnowHow Movies.
Even from this page it is difficult to know where to click to actually register, or find out what movies or TV programmes are available.
Once you establish where to click for the main content, you can start to see the movies and TV shows that are available. The site is clean, bright and inciting and I would expect that any subsequent marketing will be based around this URL and would bypass the main KnowHow washing machines and computer repairs page completely. In time, Google search will soon pick up this new URL.
The movies selection is currently quite limited, but the films available are relatively up-to-date. It is clearly just from a few content deals at this stage, however I appreciate that more will be added once deals are established.
The TV shows section, however, was pretty disappointing, with the main TV link not giving any content at all, just a blank page with the headings of “latest seasons” and “new shows”. Once some content was found, it appeared to only be series 10 of Smallville. This had been marketed as “a library” of TV programmes. Again, I’m sure more content is on the way, but I’d question launching with such a limited array at this stage.
Considering the marketing surrounding the launch, and press coverage of the forthcoming service, I would have expected there to be more content available and clearer sign-posting to capitalise on any early adopters who wanted to check out the service.
I think an opportunity may have sadly been lost today, but hopefully this excellent commercial idea will develop traction within the retail stores over the coming months. If it does, it could give the Dixons Group a healthy share of the very competitive VOD revenue stream.