Consumers are more loyal to programmes than TV channels, according to the results of Accenture’s inaugural Global Broadcast Consumer Survey.
The survey found that although television remains the predominant mass communications device worldwide, with 97% of respondents watching TV in a typical week, consumption patterns vary based on a number of factors including geography, age and socio-economic status.
While some 70% of consumers watch four or more television programs a week, 71% of them watch programs on four or more television channels.
The survey also found that while 83% of the respondents expressed discontent with watching ‘live’ (eg, broadcast or cable) TV, a third (33%) are still watching eight or more programs per week, including 41% of American and 39% of British consumers.
David Wolf, a senior executive with Accenture’s Media & Entertainment practice, believes the research suggests that television is rapidly shifting from its origins as a clearly-identifiable stand-alone medium.
“People are experiencing new consumption opportunities and moving away from traditional, linear programming,” said Wolf. “And age has become the leading indicator of these new behavioural preferences with consumers under 35-years-old clearly the best indicator of these impending changes and future broadcast consumption patterns.
“Today’s youth are more dissatisfied with the traditional television experience and increasingly excited by the availability of new choices.”
Furthermore, the survey found that more than one in three adults (37%) are willing to pay on some basis to download TV shows from a digital service, with half preferring a monthly fee for unlimited downloading and slightly fewer preferring to pay for a season of a particular show. Thirty-three percent prefer to pay nothing in return for watching advertisements within the downloaded programs.
TV commercials are what respondents disliked most about ‘live’ TV. Commercials are by far the top complaint (64%), followed by not being able to ‘rewind’ (40%) and not being able to watch programs at the viewer’s convenience (38%). Much less troublesome are unappealing content (14%), and being unable to watch programs away from home (8%), to interact (7%) or to rate programs (7%).
A recent forecast from Magna Global found that US DVR subscriber households will reach 42.7 million (36.3% of TV households) by 2012 (see US DVR Subscriber Households To Reach 42.7m).
Magna also expects that video-on-demand will reach 61.9 million US households (approximately 52.7% of television households) by 2012. This compares with 36 million VOD households (32.3% of total TV households) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2007.
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