New International Research from Parks Associates Analyzes Multiscreen and Streaming Viewing Trends
Parks Associates today released findings from a new multicountry consumer study showing 15-30% of broadband households in North America and Western Europe are interested in a TV Everywhere solution. The research firm's analysts say as multiscreen solutions and streaming options become available to more consumers, these services will be valuable in retaining and acquiring subscribers but limited in their ability to expand ARPU.
Parks Associates’ new study Digital Video: Three Screens and Beyond found among the countries surveyed, the U.K. has the highest level of interest in a TV Everywhere solution, with nearly 30% of broadband households interested in a service allowing them to view TV programming on multiple devices, including tablets, smartphones, and connected CE.
“In the U.S., Netflix Watch Instantly is having a major impact on TV viewing trends, with 22% of all broadband households using this service, more than those who use Blockbuster retail stores,” said John Barrett, Director, Research, Parks Associates. Analysts are available to comment on Netflix’s strategy as well as this week’s expected announcement from Dish Network and Blockbuster on a new streaming video service.
The study outlines how providers can leverage TV Everywhere to increase net additions and entice pay-TV subscribers to consolidate mobile phone and Internet services. Roughly 15-30% of broadband households are willing to pay additional fees in order to obtain this service. However, one-third of all broadband households would switch to a provider offering free TV Everywhere, and 10-20% would consolidate their mobile phone and Internet services with a provider if necessary to obtain TV Everywhere. As a result, its potential to drive ARPU gains directly is limited.
“You can charge additional fees for TV Everywhere as long as nobody else offers it for free,” Barrett said. “It’s a great example of the prisoner’s dilemma in economics. As soon as one player offers it for free, everybody will be forced to do so, or they will start bleeding subscribers.”
For example, when Fox recently erected a pay wall for its content, limiting initial online access to pay-TV service subscribers, there was a noticeable increase in the downloads of Fox shows on torrent sites, highlighting the difficulty of implementing pay models for multiscreen video.
Parks Associates analysts discussed TV Everywhere and multiscreen video at IBC and will present on these important topics at Broadband World Forum in Paris next week and at CONNECTIONS™ Europe, November 8-9, in Amsterdam. Visit http://www.connectionseurope.com for more information.
Digital Video: Three Screens and Beyond surveyed 8,000 consumers in seven countries, including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, Spain, Italy, and France. For information, visit http://www.parksassociates.com, or contact 972-490-1113, sales@parksassociates.com.
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