Sixty-five percent of people who watch video on their computers, mobile devices or digital media players are watching professionally-produced TV programming, including network-and cable-produced shows, news and sports, according to ChoiceStream’s 2007 Survey of Viewer Trends in TV & Online Video.
That number surpasses the 39 percent of people watching user-generated video by 67 percent and is expected to increase over the next six months as traditional TV viewers begin to shift their viewing habits towards other devices.
When searching on a computer, mobile device or media player, 62 percent of people say it takes at least a few minutes to locate interesting content to watch. For people watching programming on their TV sets, 72 percent said that it takes at least a few minutes to find interesting programming. The challenge of finding shows and movies to watch on TV is costing TV service providers lost revenue as 43 percent of people said they would watch more Video-on-Demand and Pay-Per-View if they could find more content of interest. That number is up 19 percent from 2006.
“The Survey shows that there is an inefficient video discovery process that over time will slow the pace of change in consumers’ viewing patterns,” said Toffer Winslow, EVP of ChoiceStream Sales and Marketing.
“Consumers, especially those in the younger demographic, have grown accustomed to watching TV programs, sports, news and video at their own convenience and do not want to spend time searching for meaningful content every time they turn on their TV, PC or mobile device.”
The survey found that 55 percent of all people are watching some type of video on their computers, mobile devices or digital media players. Sixty-six percent are watching at least one hour per week through these alternatives. Close to 70 percent of younger viewers watching video on alternative devices say they watch traditional TV programming, compared to 46 percent who said they watched user generated video.
Sixty-five percent of television viewers do not use a digital video recorder. Some viewers who do have such devices are still watching television advertisements, with 23 percent of people indicating they sometimes or always watch the commercials. The reasons for watching advertisements include finding the commercials educational (36%), entertaining (34%), and too hard to fast forward (19%).
