The Evolving Use of Television and Its Content: Study
As different ways of watching television continue to emerge, consumers are still watching traditional TV as they slowly adapt to new technologies and innovations.
Advanced technologies are making the early-adopters happy, but most consumers still like plain old TV. When asked about all the TV-related activities they engaged in the previous night, nearly three-fifths of consumers (57%) reported having watched scheduled TV programs. Consumers are also watching pre-recorded DVDs and videos, with about one in 10 engaging in each of these activities, according to a study by the Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing, and conducted by Lieberman Research Worldwide.
Viewers have also retained their favorites and sit down to watch them during their designated time slots. Most viewers (64%) indicated that they knew what program they were going to watch when they turned on the TV and 53% reported preferring to watch one show and not change the channel while the program is on.
At the same time, viewers like having more choice. They do check out—and stay with—new channels. Fifty-five percent of those who watched TV that previous night turned to their favorite channels to see what was on. Even though viewers reported watching favorite channels most often, 50% said they watched a new channel in the past year. One third said they adopted two or more television channels in the past year, while 17% added one.
In terms of new technology, the digital guide seems to have driven new behaviors in TV consumption. Nearly half (46%) of viewers in digital cable and satellite homes thought that the interactive programming guide “makes it easy to find something to watch”. Additionally, 45% percent indicated they were very or somewhat familiar with high-definition television. Two in 10 viewers said they would like to buy an HD television set, and the majority of those expect to get their HDTV reception from cable (56%) vs. satellite TV (25%), or local stations (9%).
Advanced technologies are making it into the hands of mainstream consumers slowly but surely. Satellite subscribers reported relatively low subscription to high-speed Internet 20% vs. 44% in digital cable households), but relatively high interest in getting the service; 35% very/somewhat interested vs. 30% overall. Of those adults interested in the new products, men beat the women for HDTV (accounting for 60% of likely buyers) and digital-video recorders (57% of likely buyers). But the next wave of high-speed Internet customers includes more women (57%) than men (43%). On Demand? It’s a tie.