IPTV: A Game Changer in 2011

Kantar Media’s Trevor Vagg tackles the issue of connected TV and discusses why he thinks it’s going to make waves in 2011.

IPTV – TV over the internet rather than a terrestrial or digital signal – is set to be big news next year. The BBC -backed joint venture YouView is set to hit the shops in the form of an affordable set-top box with no overall subscription charge – watch the company’s promo vid above. So, why does this matter?

New futurePROOF research from Kantar Media suggests that connected TV is set to have a big impact on digital behaviour in Britain in 2011, with the launch of YouView (previously known as Project Canvas ).

Whilst awareness of IPTV has not yet reached the mainstream (42 percent of the population is aware of IPTV), there is already evidence of a behaviour shift stimulated by the availability of TV on demand on a TV set. Here’s what we found:

- Virgin Media viewers, who have a full on-demand service via their TV, are more likely to have watched on demand through TV (63 percent) than online (22 percent) in the last four weeks.

-The gap is much smaller in Sky homes where there is not yet a full on-demand service via TV (42 percent via TV, 27 percent online).

- In Freeview-only homes, where no TV-on-demand is available via a TV set, the study shows a greater proportion of people watching TV online on demand (34 percent) than in any other type of household.

This makes sense if you take into account the different viewing experiences. Why use a small computer screen when you can watch via your high-spec screen from the comfort of your sofa? Growth in HD and flatscreen set ownership demonstrates the investment people make in these sets and the attraction of being able to watch TV on demand through that screen.

Given this information, connected TV appears to be a potential game changer in how people are going to be watching TV. The ability to watch streamed online content is not a new concept for consumers, but being able to view it on their high-spec TV screen rather than their laptop or tablet will be a no-brainer. Connected TV also has the possibility of really taking the internet into the living room and making it more of a shared experience.

Consequently, I feel that YouView has the potential to be a phenomenal success. It brings the full on demand functionality to the TV set without a subscription. People we spoke to in the qualitative phase of the research were certainly excited by the possibilities on demand on a TV set would bring them.

Despite growth in on demand viewing and usage of DVRs, live viewing remains by far the most common way of watching TV, and I am not suggesting that this is likely to change. It seems that most people turn to on demand to catch something they’ve missed and forgotten to record. Only 1 in 4 people who watch on demand TV agree that they use on demand services to create their own TV schedule.

Furthermore, consumers’ love of talking about TV programmes and desire to participate, reinforce the value of live broadcasts, even in a connected TV world. Indeed, connected TV will make the social television experience easier for viewers.

The success of social media has made it clear how important the collective experience is to people. Despite fears that audiences are fragmenting into ever smaller groups, thanks to time-shifted viewing, social media creates a counter trend that is bringing audiences together like never before. The instant nature of social media is making timely involvement as important as ever so as not to miss out on the debate. As a result more people want to experience TV programmes live.

Originally written for The Media Briefing.com