Study revelas ‘no consumer prejudice’ against Pay TV in battle with OTT
Consumers are just as willing to purchase digital content by broadband Pay TV as they are via Over-the-Top services, found a new study conducted by support solutions company CSG.
The study surveyed 1,200 US consumers between the ages of 18-65 and set out to challenge the notion that OTT content providers are preferred significantly over broadband Pay TV operators when it comes to purchasing digital films and television programmes.
The results revealed that there is no such prejudice and that consumers are just as interested in using Pay TV providers – 71% said that they would be willing to buy content from OTT, while 70% said that they would use a Pay TV provider.
Almost 71% of respondents said that they would like digital content charges on their Pay TV providers’ monthly bill, which according to CSG, in the competition for market share, gives Pay TV providers a significant opportunity to leverage an easy, convenient way of paying for digital content through their existing billing relationship with the consumer.
While the majority of video content is still purchased within the household rather than over smart phones, there are a growing number of devices in the home.
79% of consumers use computers and laptops to order digital content, while 39% also use tablets and 36% use internet-connected televisions. Smart phones ranked lowest of all devices despite ownership being highest.
“With so much publicity around the evolution of digital content, it’s easy to assume that Over-the-Top newcomers are winning the battle to attract consumers and revenues from Pay TV providers, but that is not necessarily true,” said Kent Steffen, president of content direct at CSG International.
“Consumers are less focused on the type of provider and are making decisions based on the experience of the digital content purchase around factors such as cost, quality and ease of use.”
When it came to assessing the drive for content purchasing decisions, consumers said that price, ease of use, quality across devices and multi-screen access are all key factors that guide decision-making.
“We believe these findings point to an opportunity for the Pay TV provider to personalise the content buying and delivery experience, reaching each member of a household with content offers that appeal to their preferences,” added Steffen.
“Gone are the days of thinking of consumers through the single lens of the primary account holder – the content revolution demands considering the preferences of all individuals and their devices within a household to ultimately create a more loyal and satisfied customer.”