NEW YORK, NY — A recent survey of television and video consumers in the U.S. has revealed some surprising insight into how viewers relate to pay-TV offerings.The survey, conducted in December 2007 by ABI Research with a bank of 1,002 American television and video viewers, draws no single conclusion and does not generalize about “typical” TV and video consumption, but it does note that 66 percent of U.S. consumers subscribe to some form of pay-TV service. Of that segment, 60-percent receive at least one additional service (telephone, internet access, etc.) from their television provider. However, only 54-percent of respondents declared themselves satisfied overall with their providers. Pricing and customer service are the biggest sources of discontent.
“Given that nearly 30-percent of all respondents’ reasons for choosing their providers involved a lack of choice or unawareness of alternatives, perhaps providers do not have to worry just yet,” said Janet Wise, director of primary research for ABI.
Forty-one percent of TV owners have a high-definition TV, but surprisingly, only 56-percent of them subscribe to an HD service package.
A substantial 45-percent of viewers said they have watched pay-per-view offerings, but not often. Most do so just once a month or less, according to the survey’s results.
Generally, interest in “next-generation” TV services is low (although greater in younger viewers), with the one exception being the ability to move content sourced from the internet to the TV.
Digital video recorders are owned by a significant minority of users, which leads to one seemingly inescapable conclusion: “Alliances with games console manufacturers [such as IPTV services through Xbox 360] could represent a significant opportunity for online content and gaming services,” said ABI Research senior analyst Cesar Bachelet.
