There are an interesting couple of surveys out this week, one from the US TV network Pivot, on cord cutting and the other from Adobe showing that online advertising is not working. They kind of contradict one another.
One shows that in terms of viewing TV online, it is very much larger and more complex than most research companies have so far thought, while on the marketing side traditional media still seems to have the confidence of both consumers and marketing professionals for advertising.
The study by the owner of Pivot, a new US TV channel launching in the US in August, aimed at 18 to 34 year olds, took in some 2,500 Adults from 18 to 49, limiting them to broadband users, and finds that in the 18-34 category, 13.6% which equates to 8.6 million US citizens viewing TV entirely on broadband, and that 27% (some 17.9) million people watching both broadband TV and traditional TV (cross platformers) are at risk of cutting their pay TV subscriptions.
The study, conducted by Miner & Co Studio breaks the market into broadband only vs. broadband plus Pay TV viewers, plus pay TV viewers only and adds the dimension of future intentions. Where pure broadbanders really miss TV shows, they show them as ‘craving,’ Pay TV; and where viewers are planning to get rid of the traditional TV part of their package and go OTT only, they are thought of as potential ‘strayers.’ Almost half of those who have moved to broadband only want to come back, and it’s not so much the money that’s preventing them, but the availability of a decent online experience to go with it.
The report also found that many Cross-Platformers are looking to stray from the ecosystem with some 17.9 million in the 18-34 bracket and 32 million in the 18-49 category planning to stray. The data indicates that 87% of at-risk potential Strayers would consider keeping their pay TV subscriptions if offered programming streamed live and on demand anywhere.
For years research companies like Nielsen have talked about live linear programming still having its appeal, but now that there is a consistent social buzz about TV series, it has become clear they are right and that most OTT platforms need to do more than offer simple VoD catalogs and catch up. Among 18-34 year olds, 51% of Broadbanders say they would consider paying as much as $20 a month for such a bundle that was also OTT. All this is grist to the OTT mill and we have already seen a consistent drift to live linear channels in OTT, and all this is going to do is speed that up.
In March, Pivot announced a distribution model offering pay TV subscribers TV Everywhere live and on demand, on any device, anywhere, anytime; as well as offering the channel to broadband-only subscribers through their Pivot App. All this is available only by subscriptions sold through their broadband providers.
Additional results for 18-34 year olds show that 92% want VoD streamed everywhere and anywhere; that 86% want live streaming TV everywhere; and that 87% of at-risk ‘Strayers’ would consider keeping their pay TV subscriptions if offered programming streamed live and on demand. It also discovered that 44% of pay TV ‘craving’ broadbanders miss their favorite live shows, while only 19% say they miss live sports
Evan Shapiro, President of Pivot and Participant Television, who unveiled the data today during The Cable Show in Washington, D.C. said: ‘Our goal with this study was to start a conversation about attracting a new generation of MVPD customers. The future of our industry isn’t just about staving off decline, but growing the video business by showing the 100 million plus audience under 30 that our products can fit their media lifestyle.’
The other survey was entitled ‘Click Here: The state of Online Advertising,’ and is clearly designed to show the benefits of some elements of technology that Adobe has added to its video formats. It kicks off saying that marketers are missing out on a digital opportunity.
The survey took in some 8,750 consumers and a further 1,750 people that work in marketing, taking in the US, France, Germany, the UK, Australia, Japan and South Korea. It concludes that digital marketing is not meeting the needs of consumers.
It finds that both consumers and marketers feel online advertising is still not effective and marketers in the US and Europe were the most dismissive of online advertising. A large percentage of respondents think that banner ads simply do not work (49% consumers; 36% marketers). Traditional media such as print and TV are seen as more credible and more effective in all regions (94% consumers; 91% marketers)
Across all regions, one-third of respondents agreed it is valuable when a website makes personalized product and service recommendations. Respondents in Asia-Pacific were less concerned than those in the US and Europe about sharing private information in exchange for more personalized and customized experiences online.
More specifically, respondents said they were comfortable with targeted advertising based on their behaviors (US74%; Asia-Pacific 63%; Europe 71%).
According to respondents, the marketing profession was consistently ranked as one of the least valuable to society. The survey will be used at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity next week, to drive a discussion on whether nor not you can trust marketers.
The majority of consumers believe that TV ads are ‘more important,’ than online ads, and also that online ads are annoying (47% US, 45% UK). Phone calls from marketers and pop up adverts on the internet are among the two most annoying things that a marketer can do (US 89%, UK 85%) though this is less so in Asia (Japan 45%). Text message adverts and ads prior to viewing video are the next worst irritations.
The item at the end ranks professions in terms of how worthwhile they are and finds that teachers and scientists top the vote getting mentions by (91% US and 86% UK). Advertising and marketing is less (17% US and 7% UK), while PR is the lowest profession on the heap (11% US and 10% UK) .
We’re not too sure what Adobe expects to gain here, perhaps some personalization of the advertising experience, but it certainly shows a contradiction. If more and more people want to watch video online, they will have to either begin watching and respecting the adverts, or we need to find an entirely different way to monetize online video.