Although consumers are increasingly prepared to have some form of pay-TV in their household, getting more consumers to order and then regularly view pay per view (PPV) or video on demand (VOD) remains a key challenge for service providers, according to a recent survey by Gartner.

In the fourth quarter of 2007, Gartner surveyed 5,800 consumers, covering 18 countries and territories, and found that approximately three-quarters of all worldwide respondents had some form of pay-TV in their households, yet less than one-quarter of all respondents purchased either PPV or VOD content within the past year.

The research indicates that globally, the average consumer spends 22 hours per week viewing entertainment television; of which 16 hours per week is spent watching TV and six hours watching DVDs or videotapes. Furthermore, 39 percent of all survey respondents had downloaded some form of video content (moves, TV shows and video clips for example) in the past three months.

Gartner maintains that tapping into this established behavior and providing alternate solutions to satisfy demand is essential in earning incremental revenue for IPTV. “Consumers already value DVD and videotape purchases and rentals, so getting them to transfer this behaviour or habit over to IPTV subscriptions is a key strategy in developing revenue,” said Amanda Sabia, principle research analyst at Gartner. “Providers need to ensure that ordering and navigation processes for PPV and VOD are easy to understand and user friendly. They should also offer competitive pricing, free trials and a wide range of titles, making sure they include various unique and most-recent versions.”

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