Almost three-quarters of US consumers are yet to be convinced by the merits of digital television, according to a study from Statistical Research (SRI), released last week.
The findings of the American public’s views are slightly contradictory: on the one hand almost 75% believe that DTV is not the ‘indispensable enhancement the industry believes it to be’; on the other hand, two interactive television (iTV) applications – video on-demand (VOD) and the interactive programme guide (IPG) – are popular services.
When asked if they were interested or not interested in interacting with television programs, 72% of respondents said they were not. Significantly, the proportions were virtually identical both for homes that already have iTV services and those that do not.
Amongst homes with iTV, respondents said they rarely or never use interactive links in TV shows and TV-based internet and email – demonstrating a need for either more aggressive marketing or more relevant services, says Statistical Research.
SRI also found that 73% of those with pay per view (PPV) access via a set-top box said they do buy PPV films and 43% said they buy other PPV programmes, such as sports and entertainment specials. The research found that PPV customers are willing to pay higher prices for VOD capabilities such as 24-hour access to a given film.
Another popular technology is the interactive (or electronic) program guide. Almost two thirds of US homes that have IPGs said the guides are used increasingly often. Furthermore, the technology is linked to changes in viewing decisions; more than half (53%) said they channel-surf less since having the IPG and 82% said that they use TV newspaper listings less often.
A separate study by Frost & Sullivan forecasts that video on demand will reach 8.5 million people across Europe by 2006, generating revenues of up to $2.5 billion (£1.7 billion).
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Similarly, interactive services in the UK have not met with the wave of public enthusiasm that the pre-launch hype would have suggested. Cable company Telewest Communications’ recent decision to give up running its dedicated interactive applications developer, Smashed Atom, is evidence of the previously inflated expectations which surrounded the emergence iTV. It has not reaped the interest, excitement or revenue levels that much of the talk a few years back would have suggested, although it is now definitely up and running.
The SRI research indicates that for DTV and iTV operators, it is crucial to develop and build on those services which people find genuinely useful as add-ons to their experience of watching television. Email and internet browsing, for example, are much easier, quicker and vastly more comprehensive services when used via a home computer than they are when accessed via a television. Given the huge decline in the cost of buying a PC, and until we reach true convergence of TV and internet systems, the attraction of such services is not particularly great.
EPGs and VOD, on the other hand, are unsurprisingly proving popular as they enhance and make more convenient the existing television viewing experience.
