Three major trends are driving great change in TV land: an increase in DVR ownership and video-on-demand services along with the growth in broadband consumption, Stephen B. Burke, COO of Comcast Corp. told a crowd yesterday at the Forrester Consumer Forum 2004 in New York City.

He said TV viewing habits will change more in the next five years than in the past 25 years as a result of the trends, making the landscape all the more challenging for advertisers, but paving the way for reaching consumers in their homes with much more personalized messaging.

The number of consumers owning DVRs—now at 5 million—is expected to grow significantly over the next year as satellite and cable companies offer simpler, cheaper alternatives to set-top boxes like TiVo, which has expensive monthly fees and has proven challenging for consumers to hook up. Satellite and cable TV companies are including DVRs with the cable box, making them extremely easy for consumers to use, with no upfront fees and nominal monthly charges. These make the services much more attractive to the general public, said Stephen B. Burke, COO of Comcast Corp.

“Within five years, 50% of homes subscribing to satellite or cable will have DVRs,” he said.

In a second major change, video-on-demand, which has traditionally been purchased by consumers to buy movies on demand, will offer the capability to time shift television content, providing thousands of hours of content at the whim of the viewer. A consumer who had to work late and missed Joey last Thursday night, could order up the show on Friday evening when he had more time to relax and enjoy the sitcom. Comcast launched the service in Philadelphia and last month had 20 million experiences of time-shifted content with three-quarters of subscribers using the service every month.

“It profoundly changes the way people think about television,” Burke said. “People want more choice and more personalization. Choice sells.”

Another major trend is the continued migration toward broadband consumption of the Internet.

Burke said he expects to see the current number of broadband users—now 25 to 30 million—to jump by 40% over the next five years, a trend that will mark the conversion of the personalization of TV and the Internet. The ability to finely target consumers will increase with addressable personal messages based on a home’s viewer ship and buying history.

“All of those trends make it a scary time to be in the TV business,” he said.

Three major trends are driving great change in TV land: an increase in DVR ownership and video-on-demand services along with the growth in broadband consumption, Stephen B. Burke, COO of Comcast Corp. told a crowd yesterday at the Forrester Consumer Forum 2004 in New York City.

He said TV viewing habits will change more in the next five years than in the past 25 years as a result of the trends, making the landscape all the more challenging for advertisers, but paving the way for reaching consumers in their homes with much more personalized messaging.

The number of consumers owning DVRs—now at 5 million—is expected to grow significantly over the next year as satellite and cable companies offer simpler, cheaper alternatives to set-top boxes like TiVo, which has expensive monthly fees and has proven challenging for consumers to hook up. Satellite and cable TV companies are including DVRs with the cable box, making them extremely easy for consumers to use, with no upfront fees and nominal monthly charges. These make the services much more attractive to the general public, said Stephen B. Burke, COO of Comcast Corp.

“Within five years, 50% of homes subscribing to satellite or cable will have DVRs,” he said.

In a second major change, video-on-demand, which has traditionally been purchased by consumers to buy movies on demand, will offer the capability to time shift television content, providing thousands of hours of content at the whim of the viewer. A consumer who had to work late and missed Joey last Thursday night, could order up the show on Friday evening when he had more time to relax and enjoy the sitcom. Comcast launched the service in Philadelphia and last month had 20 million experiences of time-shifted content with three-quarters of subscribers using the service every month.

“It profoundly changes the way people think about television,” Burke said. “People want more choice and more personalization. Choice sells.”

Another major trend is the continued migration toward broadband consumption of the Internet.

Burke said he expects to see the current number of broadband users—now 25 to 30 million—to jump by 40% over the next five years, a trend that will mark the conversion of the personalization of TV and the Internet. The ability to finely target consumers will increase with addressable personal messages based on a home’s viewer ship and buying history.

“All of those trends make it a scary time to be in the TV business,” he said.