Consumers Ready for Next Level of Interactive Television Services; CTAM Pulse Survey Reveals Consumer Preference on iTV Features.ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- When purchasing new entertainment services, cable and satellite customers prefer greater convenience, choice and control. In response, cable companies are launching next-level Interactive Television (iTV) features, enabling viewers to access local information such as traffic updates, movie listings and restaurant reviews, purchase tickets to local events, or order food for delivery - all through their TVs. Consumers are responding favorably fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. to features that simplify their lives and enhance their viewing experience, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the latest Pulse survey commissioned by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM CTAM Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing CTAM Cable Television Administration and Marketing Society CTAM Centralized Tuition Assistance Management (Army education) CTAM Climb to and Maintain ). In fact, one-third (34%) of basic cable customers report interest in switching to digital cable service, if some or all iTV features were available to them. "With the successful launches of first-level interactive services, such as cable On Demand and DVRs, consumers are craving craving Psychology A strong desire to consume a particular substance–eg of abuse, or food; craving is a major factor in relapse and/or continued use after withdrawal from a substance of abuse and is both imprecisely defined and difficult to measure. additional services that simplify their daily lives," said Char char: see salmon. char Any of several freshwater food and game fishes (genus Salvelinus) of the salmon family, distinguished from the similar trout by light, rather than black, spots; by a boat-shaped, rather than flat, vomer (bone) on the roof of Beales, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , CTAM. "We see the trend continuing. With iTV, cable companies are creating even greater value for their customers, while cementing their leadership position in the marketplace." Top Notch notch (noch) incisure; an indentation on the edge of a bone or other organ. aortic notch dicrotic n. cardiac notch 1. TV Although consumers highly rate the convenience factors brought by local iTV, they also desire an enhanced viewing experience. Anywhere from one-third to one-half of digital and cable modem cable modem Modem used to convert analog data signals to digital form and vise versa, for transmission or receipt over cable television lines, especially for connecting to the Internet. customers are interested in features such as the ability to pull up background information on characters in a program, casting votes CASTING VOTE, legislation. The vote given by the president or speaker of a deliberate assembly; when the votes of the other members are equal on both sides, the casting vote then decides the question. Dane's Ab. h.t. CASTRATION, crim. law. The act of gelding. , choosing a specific camera angle and playing games on a dedicated channel.
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Would Switch to
Digital Cable Digital for 1+
Feature/Service(a) Total Cable Modem Features
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Local Services 42% 50% 59% 80%
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Media Center 40% 50% 52% 63%
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Caller ID on TV 38% 42% 40% 69%
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Playing Games 35% 40% 41% 60%
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Camera POV 33% 42% 50% 55%
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Voting 29% 39% 33% 53%
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Background Info. on
Characters 29% 39% 37% 45%
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Q. Cable companies and satellite providers are offering a number of
new features and services that you can access through your television.
Please tell me how interested you would be in the following. Would you
be...(Top two box or Very/Somewhat interested)?
(a)Descriptions of features are included at the back of the report
Base: Total Respondents
Media Centers Grab Attention As one would expect, higher-end customers who subscribe to Verb 1. subscribe to - receive or obtain regularly; "We take the Times every day" subscribe, take buy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; digital cable are among the most interested in having a home media center (50%), which allows them to produce, store, and access photos, music, home video and record live TV all in one place. Cable customers interested in media centers are often entertainment enthusiasts and are most likely to rent videos or DVDs, own a video game system and own a personal computer. Media centers will help these customers better manage the media and entertainment they love. Who's Calling? TV Screen Caller ID A telephone company service that sends the caller's telephone number between the first and second ring of the call. If the calling number is not blocked, the calling number is displayed on the handset or base station of the called party. Approximately 40 percent of digital cable customers are interested in having a form of caller ID that displays the name and number of the person calling on the TV screen. Although many people have this service on their phones, this application allows viewers to screen calls without interrupting the programs they are watching. The TV caller ID feature appeals to both men and women who are younger, more likely to be single and interested in staying in touch with their social circle. The Original iTV The first wave of cable's value-added iTV services includes cable On Demand and Digital Video Recorders See DVR. (DVRs). A majority (65%) of consumers nationwide report being aware of On Demand. Exclusive to digital cable, On Demand allows viewers to access a library of movies, cable series, original programs, premium channels, news, sports and more at any time. In addition, On Demand offers control features such as fast forward, rewind re·wind tr.v. re·wound , re·wind·ing, re·winds 1. To wind again or anew. 2. To reverse the winding of (recording tape or camera film). n. 1. The act or process of rewinding. , stop, save and resume. When combined with the benefits of a cable DVRs A digital video recorder (DVR) that is built into the cable company's set-top box. See DVR. , customers can control what, how and when they watch TV - 24/7. About the Study This issue of Pulse examines consumer interest in iTV features and services, demographic breakdowns of those interested in the most popular features and consumer preferences for learning about them. Pulse is based on a telephone survey conducted by Centris (Communications, Entertainment and Technology Research and Information Service) as part of their Access survey from May 12 to May 18, 2005. The sample includes 1,014 randomly selected U.S. consumers 18 years of age or older. Sixty-four percent of weighted respondents In the context of marketing research, a representative sample drawn from a larger population of people from whom information is collected and used to develop or confirm marketing strategy. are cable customers, including 32 percent who have premium cable and 21% who have digital cable. Twenty five percent of respondents are satellite television customers. The study has a +/- 3.9 percentage point margin of error. For more information on cable services, visit www.onlycablecan.com. The Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) is dedicated to helping the cable industry grow by advancing consumer and business-to-business marketing excellence, facilitating collaborative efforts, and encouraging the mastery of new technology-based products. CTAM supports its more than 5,300 members with conferences, consumer research, publications, Web sites, regional chapters, and the CTAM Educational Foundation's Executive Management Program at the Harvard Business School Harvard Business School, officially named the Harvard Business School: George F. Baker Foundation, and also known as HBS, is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. . In addition, consumers can learn more about the benefits of cable through national CTAM initiatives, such as OnlyCableCan (SM). To view or download the complete study, including descriptions of the features measured, media should visit the "Publications" section of www.ctam.com. --Media note: Members-only access is password protected. If you do not have your press member number and password, please send an email request to melissa@ctam.com. |
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