Parks Associates European research finds strong demand in Western Europe for TV solutions that personalize and prioritize content. TV subscribers in France, Belgium, the U.K., and Germany all expressed strong interest in an EPG (electronic program guide) feature that displays a viewer's favorite channels first.
The following percentages of broadband households with TV services found this feature highly appealing:
• 45% in Germany
• 40% in the U.K. and Belgium
• 26% in France
The research firm will discuss strategies to improve the customer experience and monetize video services at the eighth-annual CONNECTIONS™ Europe, November 12-13 in Amsterdam. Industry executives will discuss the impact of new entrants in an increasingly crowded European video market, where both Netflix and Hulu are expanding their presence. Netflix has partnered with U.K. cable operator Virgin Media and Sweden's Com Hem to allow users to access Netflix’s library through the providers' TiVo set-top boxes.
The European video market is becoming more competitive, with OTT services, free and paid VoD, and cloud DVR offerings changing the dynamics of the ecosystem. These offerings are creating new pressure on EPG and content discovery solutions to provide differentiation. European consumers are most interested in features that help them find programming, such as customized channels, keyword programming search, and personalized recommendations. The upcoming CONNECTIONS™ Europe will discuss strategies to capture subscriber interest and counter current frustrations with disappointing content-discovery options.
