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MUMBAI:
Despite the growing popularity of viewing television content
online, most American adults (94 per cent) who subscribe to
cable or satellite television services prefer to watch television
on traditional TV sets, according to a Nielsen study.
The
report is based on a study that Nielsen conducted for the
Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing (Ctam).
One-third
of the adult broadband users (35 per cent), surveyed for the
study said that they watched at least one television programme
originally shown on TV via the Internet. Of those who sought
out video content online, 87 per cent watched television programs
directly from a TV network website.
Further,
82 per cent of those who watched video content online reported
that they went online to find a specific television program
that they had missed when it first aired on TV.
This
indicates the critical importance of strong marketing for
the initial TV showing and the success that major networks
are having by taking popular programmes to the online platform.
According
to the study, online television viewers are not only catching
up on their favourite shows, but nearly 40 per cent report
using the Internet to get the scoop on actors and upcoming
episodes.
As
far as the online TV viewers are concerned, 39 per cent have
read background info about a show's cast member, says the
report.
38
per cent have viewed a show's preview. 37 per cent have read
background info about the show or the show's characters. 27
per cent have viewed a behind-the-scenes video clip.
Asked to choose among 17 online content categories, online
television viewers said they prefer to watch shorter video
clips when they go online. This specifically includes movie
trailers (53 per cent), user generated videos (45 per cent),
music videos and general news segments (37 per cent), comedy
programmes (31 per cent), and sports clips (31 per cent).
Ctam
president and CEO Char Beales says, "Tracking how consumer
behaviour is changing as a result of new television viewing
platforms is critical to our business. As preferences are
made clear through research, cable companies and content providers
evolve the product mix to best suit viewers' needs and desires."
"With
so many viewing options now available via digital technology,
it's more important than ever to understand how people are
consuming media. This analysis shows a continuing strong appetite
for watching television the traditional way even as viewers
begin to extend their viewing to the personal computer,"
Nielsen executive VP Susan Whiting added.
In
general, the study found that people are spending more time
online each week than they were two years ago. More than half
of the respondents (51 per cent) reported being online for
at least three hours a week last year. In 2005, just 41 per
cent of those surveyed said they spent three or more hours
online per week.
Nielsen
and Ctam's analysis also found growth among services associated
with traditional television set viewing. For example, respondents'
knowledge and usage of video-on-demand services increased
substantially between 2005 and 2007. Free-on-demand programs
and movies also experienced a significant jump in usage from
49 per cent in 2005 to 71 per cent in 2007, while paid-on-demand
usage increased from 46 per cent to 55 per cent.
Other
key findings from the report include:
HDTV
subscribers are exceptionally loyal: Of those respondents
who own HDTV sets, two-fifths (41 per cent) subscribe to a
high-definition programming service. These subscribers report
making it a point to watch high-definition programs every
time (20 per cent) or most of the time (45 per cent) they
watch television.
Digital
cable and HDTV are poised for further growth: Interest
in digital cable and HDTV sets is strong among respondents
currently without these services or devices. Those interested
in digital cable jumped from nine per cent to 20 per cent
and from 18 per cent to 28 per cent for high definition TV
sets from 2005 to 2007.
Viewers
are accessing TV content via new media platforms: Small,
but significant, percentages of respondents reported watching
television via desktop computers (14 per cent), laptops (nine
per cent), video-enabled mobile phones (6 per cent), or other
portable video players (5 per cent).
Portable
video platforms are slowly gaining popularity: While a
large per cent (82 per cent) of adults in this study own a
mobile phone, only seven per cent subscribe to a video downloading
service. Of those respondents who own a video iPod, 35 per
cent have never watched a video on it, 16 per cent watch videos
two or three times a month, 14 per cent watch videos once
a week, and nine per cent watch videos daily via iPod.
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