Our clients have expressed a lot of interest lately on the consumer potential for IP-TV in the United States market. Top questions:
- What do people want to do?
- Who specifically wants to use IP-TV?
- What is driving their desires?
Frankly, we were surprised at the accelerating demand we are seeing from our in-home ethnographies, web-based attitude measurement and survey research.
Top 4 Desired Activities
- Watch favorite TV shows at work (on PC’s) or on smartphones/iPhones (Here's a cool YouTube video that shows you what people are doing)
- Download movies from NetFlix, rather than go through the mail
- Get specialty, ethnic programs not available on cable (without paying a lot)
- Display on bigger screen TV at home
IP-TV Skews To . . .
- 22 to 35 year olds
- Both male and female (with slight skew toward men)
- PC and mobile phone technophiles
- Urban, coastal areas
Underlying Drivers
- Busy lives require shifting time and place of viewing
- Recession pinching budgets for subscription services
- Less money drives greater use of existing equipment (LCD TV, PC monitors, broadband)
- Greater “buzz” and awareness of downloadable video services
Bottom Line: The recession seems to be providing “Silver Lining” for IP-TV adoption. 2009-10 could mark the inflection point on the adoption curve.
