TORONTO – Cable giants south of the border (Comcast and Time Warner) are pushing their TV Everywhere concept hard and Canadians, according to new data from Solutions Research Group, like the idea, even though Canadian cablers haven’t yet launched anything (but one is close).
Nearly 7-in-10 Canadian TV viewers say being able to access their cable channels on the web or mobile is an “excellent” (26%) or “good” (41%) idea, says SRG, with a younger demographic liking it even more.
Among the key findings of SRG’s Digital Life Canada research:
* Web TV may be an important tool to stay relevant for the important 18 to 49 demographic. Nearly eight-in-ten in this age group say the idea is “excellent” or “good,” compared to only six-in-ten of those 50-plus.
* There is little difference between the views of customers of major cable and satellite carriers. Among Shaw and Videotron clients, 68% like the idea. Among Bell and Rogers customers, 66% and 65%, respectively.
* These levels are slightly lower than SRG’s benchmarks among Comcast (74%) and Time Warner (70%) subscribers.
The top reasons cited (on an open-ended basis) among those Canadians who like the TV Everywhere idea were:
* “easy, convenient”
* “can watch while travelling or outside the home”
* “taking full advantage of subscription, what we pay”
* “can use PC to watch in rooms with no TV ”
* “no worry if I miss a show”
But there were reservations also, shows SRG’s research. Skepticism about an always-reliable stream was most frequently cited, as well as potential compatibility issues.
* “will it work reliably? Streaming not always reliable, lags, choppy”
* “may need to upgrade my PC or Internet connection which would cost money”
* “will there be extra charges if more than one person from household is using”
* “don’t trust the cable company to get it right”
Of course, the top channels Canadians would want on laptops or mobile include the three networks CTV, Global, CBC, sports channels such as TSN, Sportsnet, (RDS in Quebec) as well as CNN and Discovery (the content for some of which can be found in places online or with a mobile device of some sort. The “TV Everywhere” idea is to have a single place to source your TV content, on any device.)
In other findings from Digital Life Canada:
* More PCs are now paired with TVs: 10% of PCs in Canadian households are connected to a ‘regular’ TV at least some of the time (up from 7% in 2007) and 9% are at least occasionally paired with a high definition screen (up from only 3% in 2007). Among those who are not yet connecting their PCs to a TV, 44% say they are interested.
* The Blu-ray high definition DVD format showed growth in 2009, with penetration in nearly one-in-five households.
* The consumer experience with 3-D movies in theatres is very positive, suggesting potential for in-home 3-D applications such as 3D TV.
* Canadian consumer indicators have seen a slight bounce-back from late 2008 and early 2009 lows – and there is more consumer optimism. SRG’s discretionary spending momentum indicator is back in the positive territory now, after being at zero for the last two quarters.
These findings come from SRG’s independent Digital Life Canada syndicated study (formerly Fast Forward). Digital Life Canada is based on quarterly interviews with 1,000 online Canadians aged 12 and older since Q4 2006. The Q2 2009 research was conducted in late June/early July. Where applicable, results are compared to previous benchmarks.
