Digital TV Offers Still Leave Many Cold
The offer of free set-top boxes has failed to create a significant demand for digital television, as around 50% of people are either not interested in converting to digital at all, or do not intend to do so within the next three years. These are the findings of the latest Digital TV Monitor survey produced by CIA MediaLab, a division of media buying group CIA MediaNetwork.
It seems that the lure of more football, interactive services and extra channels is not strong enough for the public at present. Only 21% of people say that more channels are the most important factor for them; 37% claim that five channels are more than enough. Also, 46% of the survey sample said that they would rather not have more football on their TV; 34% reckon there are enough films on the five terrestrial channels.
These findings come as both Sky Digital and ONdigital step up a gear in the battle to win customers. Both companies are offering free set-top boxes and 40% off standard BT telephone calls (see ONdigital Returns Fire In DTV War). BSkyB has also launched its own free internet service provider (ISP), skynow, and has rebranded itself with a new ad campaign and logo (see Sky Unveils New Identity And Promotional Campaign). Investment and promotions in digital terrestrial TV are expected to cost ONdigital’s joint owners, Carlton and Granada, £100 million each over the next year.
ONdigital is currently negotiating with BSkyB to gain access to its Sky Sports 2 channel. ONdigital had previously been prohibited from carrying Sky Sports 2 due to the ITC’s ‘points system’ which limits the proportion of channels a broadcaster can show from a single supplier. However, as ONdigital is about to launch BBC Knowledge and MTV on its service, the percentage of Sky-provided channels will fall, allowing Sky Sports 2 to be added to the portfolio.
As ONdigital currently has exclusive broadcast of ITV in the digital format (see BSkyB Fails To Gain Access To ITV2), the number of football games it would show across the Sky Sports channels and ITV is greater than the number of games currently available on Sky Digital. This is potentially a strong marketing angle for ONdigital which is keen to gain access to Sky Sports 2 before the new season starts in the Autumn.
The CIA MediaLab survey shows that current cable customers are more likely to wait until their cable operator launches its digital service and then convert to that. The report also finds that 28% of people never intend to convert to digital TV. This is up from 23% at the start of the year despite the agressive initiatives by Sky and ONdigital to increase interest.
CIA MediaNetwork: 0171 803 2000