70 Percent of TV Viewers Would Consider Signing Up for Another Cable or Satellite Provider If They Offered Advanced Interactivity at No Extra Charge
Ensequence, the interactive television company, today announced the results of a survey* that shows consumers are ready to change the way they interact with their televisions in 2008. According to the survey, 72 percent of viewers indicated they are currently using their remote controls for simple tasks such as finding favorite programs using the on-screen TV guide, scheduling or selecting DVR recordings and for viewing content on-demand. Now consumers are ready to take their television viewing experience a leap further and they want more from their cable and satellite providers in 2008.
Viewers want advanced interactive television functionality across every genre of programming and advertising:
- 72 percent of those who watch reality TV shows want to interact with those shows
- 65 percent of those who watch sporting events on TV want to interact with those events
- 66 percent of viewers want to interact with commercial advertising
- 50 percent of those who watch drama TV shows indicated that they would be interested in interacting with those shows
“The TV has always been the focal point of every home. As consumers spend big money to upgrade their TVs, they want to be able to do more with the programming and advertising that they watch,” said Dalen Harrison, CEO, Ensequence. “This study confirms that consumers have higher expectations and want to vote for contestants, get additional product information during commercials, purchase tickets for live events or get scores and statistics during sporting events – all using their remote controls.”
Interactive television has been anticipated for a long time, and Ensequence is making it a reality today. Just last year, Ensequence developed an application for Bravo’s popular series, “Top Chef 3 Miami,” which allowed viewers to use their remote control to vote for their favorite contestants or download recipes among other interactive features. For the Spike TV Video Game Awards in December, more than 20 million satellite viewers were able to use their remote controls to access exclusive content and unlock cheat codes for their favorite video games.
The most forward-thinking advertisers are using interactive TV to their advantage as well. Ensequence launched a Reebok interactive television advertising campaign that allowed consumers to make purchases directly through their remote controls, which was a first for the United States market. As DVR penetration increases, advertisers are actively searching for new ways to engage consumers. Nike’s advertising agency, Wieden+Kennedy, worked with Ensequence to create a fully immersive branded experience for the launch of the Nike Zoom shoe. They used the DVR to deliver 22 minutes of interactive television content to consumers and enabled consumers to watch exclusive video, get customized retail locations and access in-depth product information.
*Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Ensequence between November 29 to December 3, 2007 among 2,949 adults (aged 18 and over), of whom 2,877 watch TV. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
About Ensequence
Ensequence, the interactive television company, is helping to change the future of television. Ensequence partners with the world’s most innovative programmers, advertisers and operators to create the most sophisticated interactive television experiences and deliver these experiences across the widest range of platforms — including television, broadband and mobile devices. The combination of their award-winning on-Q software suites and professional services makes it possible to dynamically build and quickly deploy highly targeted interactive television content and easily measure results with near real-time, web-like performance metrics. Ensequence clients include: Spike TV, Bravo, Nike, Major League Baseball Advanced Media, MTV Networks UK & Ireland, Disney, Hewlett-Packard, QVC UK, UKTV, TV Guide, the BBC, BSkyB, Cox Communications, DIRECTV, DISH Network, and Sky Sports. To experience the future of television, visit http://www.ensequence.com.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the largest and the fastest-growing market research firms in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world’s largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its North American, European and Asian offices, and through a global network of independent market research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at http://www.harrisinteractive.com.
