TV sets still preferred over TV websites
October 10, 2008
Despite the growing popularity of viewing television content online, most adults (94 per cent) who subscribe to cable or satellite television services prefer to watch television on traditional TV sets, according to research conducted by The Nielsen Company for the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM).
One-third of the adult broadband users (35 per cent) surveyed for the study said they had watched at least one television programme originally shown on TV via the Internet. Of those who sought out video content online, 87 per cent watched television programmes directly from a TV network website. Further, 82 per cent of those who watched video content online reported that they went online to find a specific television programme that they had missed when it first aired on TV. This indicates the critical importance of strong marketing for the initial TV showing and the success that major networks are having by taking popular programmes to the online platform.
“Tracking how consumer behaviour is changing as a result of new television viewing platforms is critical to our business,” said Char Beales, President and CEO of CTAM. “As preferences are made clear through research, cable companies and content providers evolve the product mix to best suit viewers' needs and desires.”