“Content Is King” Says Interactive TV Report From Continental Research
Usage of interactive TV services has more than doubled over the past year according to a the Q1 2002 Digital TV Report from Continental Research. The frequency of digital TV subscribers who have ever used interactive services has grown from 4.3% in April 2001 to 9.6% in Jan 2002. The percentage of people using once a week or more has risen from 1.9% to 3.6% and once a month or more from 3.0% to 5.8%.
| Frequency Of Using Digital TV And Online Applications | |||
| Apr-01 | Jun-01 | Jan-02 | |
| All UK adults | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Total number with digital TV | 29% | 31% | 33% |
| Using once a week or more | 1.90% | 5.10% | 3.60% |
| Using once a month or more | 3.00% | 7.10% | 5.80% |
| All ever using | 4.30% | 9.40% | 9.60% |
| Source: Continental Research, February 2002 | |||
Dave Chilvers, director at Continental Research, said: “Content is king. The Wimbledon tournament was the setting for one of the BBC’s first major excursions into interactive programming, offering digital viewers the choice of five games that were being played, whilst Big Brother attracted large audiences with many viewers voting online. Having said that, the % ever using such services was highest in January this year and at all frequencies of use was around double that of nine months previously. The January 2002 figures suggest nearly 5 million adults have ever used any online/interactive services and nearly 3 million used these in the past month.”
The report also reports, unsurprisingly, that the growth in multi-channel television households would increase greatly with the availability of cheap, free-to-air set-top boxes. Several manufacturers are planning on producing £99 set top boxes which would greatly help the Government’s planned analogue switch off target (see Forecasts).
Chilvers adds: “We are also being told, that with volume, the price might drop to £49. The availability of such boxes, if coupled with awareness that there would not necessarily be any subscription costs, could be the stimulus the digital TV market clearly needs to start growing at a substantial rate.”
| Access To Online/Internet Services | |||
| Jan-01 | Jan-02 | Growth % | |
| Home PC alone | 12.4 million | 13.0 million | 5 |
| Digital TV alone | 2.5 million | 3.1 million | 24 |
| WAP phone alone | 0.4 million | 1.0 million | 150 |
| Digital TV & Home PC | 2.1 million | 4.3 million | 105 |
| Digital TV & WAP | 0.1 million | 0.4 million | 300 |
| Home PC & WAP | 0.9 million | 1.8 million | 100 |
| Home PC & WAP & Digital TV | 0.4 million | 1.3 million | 225 |
| Source: Continental Research, February 2002 | |||
Access methods and new technology will also play a key role in the growth of interactive services, the report states that the number of individuals with online/internet access has grown substantially over the last year, with the number of people claiming they have online or internet access through their digital TV set has almost doubled from 5.1 million to 9.1 million. The number of individuals with online access through a WAP phone has risen by 150%, as WAP phones become the norm rather than exception for new or upgraded phones.
