December 6, 2011

Rovi, Decipher Study Smart TV Usage

Rovi Corporation, together with research firm Decipher, have released the first results from a two-phase study about Smart TV usage and interactive advertising in the United Kingdom. The first phase examined connected device familiarity and usage, creating a profile of the connected TV audience and comparing it to the average UK household. The second part of the study will assess the effectiveness of a range of specific interactive campaigns on the platform and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2012.

Decipher conducted the Smart TV research among more than 500 households that are part of the Rovi UK Smart TV Field Trial Advertising program. The UK study is tailored to the region's unique needs and ecosystem, yet it also is a key component of Rovi's broader international research into Smart TV usage. Rovi has already conducted similar research in the United States, which showed that 80 percent of respondents noticed the presence of ads on the connected TV platform, and approximately a third of those who noticed an ad also clicked on it.

The UK Field Trial includes Samsung Smart TVs and Blu-ray players with the "Smart Hub" content portal, available now in the UK and other countries in Europe. Twentieth Century Fox and Channel 4, along with OMD, the media agency for Channel 4, were the first companies to join the Rovi Smart TV Field Trial in the United Kingdom.

Phase One of U.K. Field Trial for Connected Platform Usage found:

•  84 percent of study respondents are connecting their Samsung Smart TV and Blu-ray players and are regularly using the Samsung "Smart Hub" content portal to access IP-delivered content via applications such as BBC iPlayer and LOVEFiLM.
• 85 percent of those planning to buy a HDTV or Blu-Ray player are more interested in the device because of the Smart Hub feature.
• Usage of Smart Hub stimulates TV viewing, as 49 percent claim it makes them "watch more TV."
• The primary reasons given for using the Smart Hub are the convenience of doing multiple tasks on a single screen and accessing on-demand content.
• 58 percent of study respondents use fewer devices to access the Internet because they can now access applications on their TV.

• Owners of connected Samsung TV/Blu-ray players are primarily young, affluent males.
• Connected TV users are super-consumers of media content and own a lot of gadgets (7x more likely to own a tablet than the national average).
• 63 percent of respondents are Sky Subscribers.
• Device users like advertising that helps them learn about new products and services available.
• Connected users who claim to "always" use the Smart Hub are young, busy professionals. The majority of them have Pay TV, and 1 in 4 have superfast broadband of at least 50 Mbps or more.
• They are heavy media consumers of both linear and on-demand content via the Smart Hub.