A recent survey conducted by ChoiceStream indicates that U.S. consumers watching videos on mobile devices and other alternatives to television prefer professionally produced content to user-generated content. The company, a provider of entertainment-personalization services, also found consumers to be frustrated with the amount of time it takes to find content they’d like to watch.
The survey, “2007 Survey of Viewer Trends in TV & Online Video,” found that among the 825 U.S. adult participants, 65 percent of those watching video on mobile devices, digital media players or computers were viewing professionally-produced TV programming, including network- and cable-produced shows, news and sports. Those watching user-generated video totaled 39 percent.
Overall, 55 percent of respondents were watching some type of video — whether it was television programs, user-generated content or music videos — on their computers, mobile devices or digital media players, not just using data-type services such as text messaging or e-mailing. Sixty-five percent watch at least on hour of videos per week through sources alternative to TV sets. Video watching on alternative devices was also found to be more popular among younger viewers (66 percent) than older viewers (36 percent).
Another major finding was consumer dissatisfaction with the time it takes to find interesting content. The survey found that when searching on a computer, mobile device or media player, 62 percent of participants said it took at least a few minutes to find something to watch. Toffer Winslow, executive VP of sales and marketing for ChoiceStream, said this was especially prevalent among younger viewers, who “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.” He added that companies and advertisers needed to understand this and implement more ways to personalize content as part of their future strategies.
While Interactive Program Guides (IPG) are an integral resource for helping users find content, ChoiceStream concluded that most of the IPGs on the market these days aren’t doing the trick, because they tend to adapt a “one-size-fits-all” approach. The survey found that the majority of TV viewers (53 percent overall and 62 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds) would prefer a more personalized IPG.
The survey, which ChoiceStream conducted via MarketTools, consisted of 825 adult U.S. residents distributed across four age categories. Forty-eight percent of those surveyed were male and 52 percent female.
For more information, visit www.choicestream.com.
