One out of every ten online consumers in the US watches television broadcasts online, according to the latest Consumer Internet Barometer survey from The Conference Board and TNS.
The top reasons given for watching TV broadcasts online are personal convenience and avoiding commercials. Only a small percentage of consumers claim that their traditional television viewing has decreased, whilst three out of every four online viewers report no change in their viewing habits.
The survey reveals that more than two-thirds of online consumers log on daily for entertainment purposes and an additional 16% log on for entertainment several times a week.
One in ten online consumers watch TV broadcasts via the internet and about one third of these households consist of multiple viewers.
More than three out of five online TV viewers cite personal convenience as the major reason for watching TV broadcasts online. Another reason for viewing online is the ability to avoid commercials. Other reasons are portability and a preference for computer viewing.
The survey shows that online viewers tend to watch news broadcasts more often than other types of broadcasts, with over 62% logging on for news content.
Almost 50% go online for entertainment viewing. Catching up on missed content, previews, sports, and watching full episodes of shows are also cited by more than a quarter of viewers.
The most popular methods for viewing TV broadcasts online are streaming and free download, cited by 53% and 49% of viewers, respectively. The Conference Board says that very few consumers are willing to pay per download or enrol in subscription services.
At MediaTel Group’s recent ‘Future Of TV’ seminar, held in September, once of the issues raised was the huge increase in consumers going online to video rich websites and how such sites could pose a threat to UK broadcasters (see Rise In Broadband Could Threaten TV Channels In UK).
Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said: “Although online television viewing is not a widespread phenomenon, the proportion of users is likely to increase over time given consumers’ penchant for entertainment.
Edye Twer, a TNS senior vice president specializing in the Media and Entertainment sector, said: “As we have learned through our ongoing research, those content providers who communicate the value, context and capabilities of online programming will be positioned to grab the greatest share of the growing market for online entertainment.
“Additionally, this is representative of a larger trend toward, ‘anytime, anywhere’ viewing that includes the use of digital video recorders, video on demand and portable video players, such as the iPod.”
Recent research from eMarketer said that, as of 2006, 63% of the US population aged 3 and over uses the internet at least once a month (see US Internet Users Over 50 Reach 46.8 Million).
Meanwhile, Point Topic released some research which forecasts that the proportion of UK households with broadband will almost double, from 34% at the end of 2005, to 64% three years later (see 64% Of UK Households On Broadband By 2008).
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