Viewers still prefer Live TV
May 22, 2012
Seventy-five per cent of viewers still prefer to watch some TV live according to a survey by Digital Spy, the UK entertainment news site.
The research also shows that despite being keen to watch shows live, nearly two-thirds (59 per cent) multi-task, viewing a second screen while they watch a TV, surfing the web, checking emails, posting to Twitter and Facebook or gaming. Facebook is the most popular social media platform for talking about TV while watching, with 44.6 per cent using it, beating Twitter at 39.8 per cent. A similar number (38.6 per cent) don’t talk about TV on any social media.
The responses from more than 3,300 UK entertainment fans also reveal how they feel the net has most-improved their TV experience. More than two thirds at 66.2 per cent found it let them ‘watch what they want, when they want’, 20.4 per cent said it made it easier to discover new shows, while 6.3 per cent said it improved their interaction with others while watching TV. Media reviews remain the most important source for TV recommendations, followed by TV listings at 26.2 per cent and word of mouth at 20.1 per cent. Advertising at 19.4 per cent was also important, while, surprisingly, social media only accounted for 10.8 per cent of influence.
Sky Anytime was revealed to be the top platform for on-demand movies with 49 per cent saying they used this, followed by Lovefilm at 30.7 per cent. Nearly 20 per cent (17 per cent) admitted to downloading films from pirate sites.
BBC iPlayer comes top for on-demand viewing, with a staggering 89.6 per cent downloading shows. YouTube is in second place with 69.7 per cent, followed by with 69.4 per cent and ITV Player with 63.0 per cent. Only 1.1 per cent said they didn’t watch any on-demand at all.
The survey also reveals that while Sky takes the top spot for live viewing, with 57.5 per cent, PC and Macs are catching up at 45.7 per cent. While 20.5 per cent watch live TV on an iPad, more than a quarter, at 26.5 per cent, now view live TV on an iPhone and 8.9 per cent on android mobile.