The video on demand (VoD) industry could be worth up to $5 billion a year to broadcast television networks, with David Poltract, executive vice president of research and planning for CBS, claiming that he sees “significant potential and little downside in an on-demand world.”
Speaking at the recent EPM Entertainment Marketing Conference in America, Poltract told delegates that despite VoD seeing limited growth people are starting to believe in the technology, with consumers willing to pay for their favourite programmes.
Specifically, CBS research found, that out of a sampling, 19% of adult TV watchers would be “definitely likely” and 16% “very likely” to consider buying their favourite TV shows to watch at their leisure.
The numbers were higher when the participants were asked about specific shows with 33% claiming they would consider paying for episodes of CSI and 32% saying they would do so for Desperate Housewives.
Poltract argued that although the television market place looked likely to change with the increasing popularity of VoD, it would look “more familiar than the pundits say.”
He added: “Some people see this as the beginning of the end for broadcast networks. “I’d argue that’s myopic. The system will not only survive, it will thrive.”
The latest MediaTel INSIGHT TV Technology seminar found that VoD is still a relatively small market in the UK, led by the likes of HomeChoice, ntl and Telewest.
The US, however, leads VoD uptake with eMarketer estimating that there are 24 million VoD enabled homes, increasing to 47 million by 2007. Elsewhere, Magna Global is less optimistic, forecasting the figure to be much lower, at 33.5 million (see Emerging Technologies In The TV Marketplace).
Research from branded content specialist, Contentworx found that 43% of respondents said that they would be willing to pay for VoD, rising dramatically amongst 18-24 year olds, where 73% said they would pay, with the majority saying they were prepared to pay “over £16” per month for the privilege, compared with 7% “less than £5”, 14% “£6 to £10” and 13% £11 to £15 (see One Third Of TV Viewers Watch TV Away From The Box).
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