SILVER SPRING, MD – Within the next five years, Americans will spend more than a third of their daily TV-viewing time watching on-demand programs rather than regularly scheduled shows and events, according to a new forecast by the market research firm Pike & Fischer.
In a report released Tuesday, Pike & Fischer says the majority of U.S. households will watch some form of on-demand content provided through cable, satellite TV or telephone company fibre-optic lines.
While the average monthly TV viewing time per household will remain relatively stable, the amount of that time viewing VOD will rise from 8.5% at the end of 2007 to about 38% by 2012, the report concludes. That translates into nearly two hours of VOD viewing per day.
According to the report’s author Scott Sleek, this trend will bring new revenue opportunities for multi-channel video providers, particularly in the form of ad sales.
“Cable companies in particular are identifying advertising as a key area of growth potential, since the addition of high-speed Internet and digital phone customers will eventually level off,” Sleek, director of Pike & Fischer’s Broadband Advisory Services, said in a statement.
“VOD will enable more targeted advertising, based on user profiles and viewing habits – the same way sites like Amazon.com operate today. That will make television an appealing marketing platform for advertisers.”
