Apple TV set to disrupt established players
April 17, 2012
An Apple TV set has the potential to be a huge hit with consumers, according to the findings of a new research report. Strategic marketing and research consultancy KAE and online polls specialist Toluna, have teamed up to release a major new study illustrating how large manufacturers could lose out if Apple launches a physical TV set.
Overall, the study highlighted that 25 per cent of consumers in the US find the idea appealing and would buy it once it becomes commercially available – compared to 30 per cent in the UK. Consumers that already own at least one Apple device are more likely to buy an Apple TV set, two in five (US 38 per cent – UK 43 per cent) find the idea appealing and would purchase should the product become available.
According to Lee Powney, Chief Commercial Officer at KAE, the huge potential of an Apple TV set, although impressive, should not be seen in isolation. “Such a move would be an incredibly powerful extension of the iOS platform, accessed via a more compelling device option than Apple’s current offering (Apple TV). It would create new monetisation opportunities for developers and accessory manufacturers by bringing the Apple experience further into the home. This would strengthen both the ecosystem and the benefits that consumers derive from owning many differing Apple devices. Will Apple do this? The pressure to maintain the lion’s share of preference from ecosystem members and create additional device-to-device interaction benefits for consumers means it should do this, and must do this.”
The report suggests that Sony, Samsung and LG are the market-leading brands most likely to suffer should Apple decide to launch its mooted Apple TV concept. In the UK, a sizeable 38 per cent of current Sony TV owners and 36 per cent of Samsung TV owners claimed they find the idea of an Apple TV appealing and would buy one. In the US, the brand most at risk from the concept is LG, where three in 10 (31 per cent) of owners would be likely to convert should an Apple TV become available.
Approximately three in five US consumers questioned who were very likely to buy the TV said they trust Apple to produce a high quality TV set (59 per cent), a sentiment echoed by UK consumers (62 per cent). Design also features highly in respondents’ reasons to purchase with over half of all those likely to buy claiming that Apple’s reputation in ground-breaking design would no doubt also be used in TV (52 per cent in US and 58 per cent in the UK).
“Although this wave of research looked only at the USA and UK, we believe that the greatest revenue opportunities in 2013-15 for an Apple TV set are clustered in the ‘home territories’ of Apple’s TV competitors – i.e. Japan, Korea and China. We’re excited at the prospect of measuring that potential and the impact that success will have on Apple’s share price,” said David Rankin, MD of KAE.
Consumers were asked which features they felt an Apple TV set would be equipped with: The top anticipated feature for potential customers of the unconfirmed Apple TV set is similar for both countries, which is the ability to connect to the Internet (73 per cent in the US and 75 per cent in the UK). The other top features selected by potential US customers were running apps on TV (44 per cent) and the ability to synchronise automatically with other Apple devices (41 per cent). For the UK market, the other two main features expected were the ability to synchronise automatically with other Apple devices (47 per cent) and for the device to be 3D enabled (41 per cent).
This survey is the latest in a series by KAE conducted to assess Apple’s potential to extend into new categories.