Sony Looking to Offer Pay-TV Service
November 2011
The Wall Street Journal reported that Sony is looking to deliver a Pay-TV service via the Internet using its PlayStation game consoles, Blu-ray players and connected TVs. The service would directly compete against traditional Pay-TV services like Cable, Satellite and IPTV. Currently, Sony is a partner with Google for its “Google TV” service. Sony has been in early discussions with Content Owners, like NBC Universal, Discovery Communications and News Corp. to stream their content to Sony devices.
The “PlayStation 3” has sold about 18 million consoles in the U.S., giving it a big potential audience for younger consumers or those willing to cut the cord for lower priced content offerings. Sony is looking to offer lower priced bundles of content packages to compete against those from traditional Pay-TV services. However, acquiring the content for such a service would be the biggest risk factor for Sony. Many Content Owners may not want to upset Cable, Satellite and IPTV Operators by licensing their content to Sony’s OTT service.
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Video Apps Increase Engagement
November 2011
According to the study “Roadmap to Video Apps (What Makes Viewers APPY?)” from U.S.-based non-profit professional association Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), free or low-cost apps are the most important feature for smartphone or tablet TV applications. Also, 65% of U.S. video app users said that word-of-mouth plays an important role in their decision on which video apps to use.
The study was conducted by Nielsen and commissioned by CTAM to discover U.S. consumer reactions to TV apps on mobile and tablet devices. The surveys were conducted during April to May 2011, for both qualitative and quantitative portions.
About 85% of U.S. video app users say they are watching the same amount or more of regularly scheduled TV since using video apps. In fact, for many, TV apps enhance viewership of regularly scheduled TV. Nearly half, 46% of U.S. video app users, report being more engaged with the programs or networks associated with the video apps after accessing them. Another 35% report that video app usage causes them to visit the network or program Website associated with the video app more than they had done so before they started using the app.
Also, CTAM found that “Sync-to-TV” apps increase consumers’ engagement with television programming rather than distracting from it. Apparently, the Sync-to-TV experience makes consumers more likely to pay heightened attention to the program, thus increasing their engagement with the program and its advertising.
Locations Where Video Apps Are Used
Location Where Video Apps are Most Often Used
All Who Have Used Video Aps in the Past Month = 1,460 |
| |
Video App Users On... |
| |
Smartphones |
iPod Touches |
Tablets |
| At Home |
74% |
76% |
78% |
| In a Car |
55% |
50% |
31% |
| Other Indoor Locations |
48% |
41% |
37% |
| Outdoor Locations |
47% |
36% |
35% |
| While Waiting in Line |
47% |
35% |
19% |
| At Restaurants/Cafes |
41% |
41% |
28% |
| In Office |
41% |
31% |
35% |
| At Shopping Malls |
34% |
29% |
20% |
| Riding Public Transport. (Commuting) |
31% |
28% |
21% |
| In School |
20% |
30% |
20% |
| On a Plane |
18% |
23% |
27% |
Source: CTAM Study, "What Makes Viewers AAPY?" (2011)
In terms of location, about three-quarters of all U.S. video app users most often access video apps at home. Approximately 50% of those who use video apps on their smartphones and iPod touches reported that they most often access video apps on these devices when they are in a car.
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