Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

February 4 2013 | Kathy Crosett

TV Everywhere, the idea that consumers can watch any program they want, at any time, on any device, is growing. But this media evolution is encountering challenges in how content is distributed and paid for. In addition, research shows that consumer demand may not yet have reached critical mass.

Pay TV operators face multiple challenges in showing content on multiple screens according to Infonetics Research.

• Securing content licensing 70%
• Managing subscriber expectations 65%
• Cost/complexity of dealing with third party video CDN provider 48%

Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband access and pay TV at Infonetics Research notes that multi-screen services are striving to help pay TV companies “[b]y keeping attention focused on the content they’re providing.” In this way, “operators keep subscribers and advertisers happy.”

A top goal for many operators is delivering content to tablets. 40% now do so and most prefer either the Android or iOS platforms.

Over half of consumers in pay TV homes know about the availability of TV Everywhere. Use levels are a little lower, however. Here’s what the statistics look like for consumers who have tried these services from pay TV companies:

• Have used TVE services: 30%
• Have used mobile app to access TVE services: 26%
• Have used mobile website to access TVE services: 25%

One survey, from Gfk, points to the reasons for low consumer use. It’s all about the difficulty level in obtaining the content. The need for authentication, yet another username and password, bothers 70% of users, with those between the ages of 50 and 64 complaining the most about this inconvenience.

The other big challenge is advertisers are concerned that they don’t have access to the kind of audience they are accustomed to. Once audiences begin watching on tablets and smartphones, they fear they can’t ‘hold onto eyeballs.”

Industry analysts remain optimistic that TV Everywhere will be a big trend in 2013. But working out the details of how marketers find their audiences in the multi-screen world and who pays how much for each step in the  distribution channel is still being worked out.

[Sources: Multi-Screen Content Headaches. Infonetics Research. 22 Jan. 2013. Web. 4 Feb. 2013; TV Everywhere. GFK. 2012. Web. 4 Feb. 2013; Malone, Michael. TV Everywhere Not Quite there. Broadcastingcable.com. 6 Dec. 2012. Web. 4 Feb. 2013]