“Cord shaving” rather than outright “cord cutting” likely among many cable-TV broadband subscribers this year, says report

Originally Published on BroadcastEngineering.com

A new report from Chadwick Martin Bailey reveals that although cord-cutters — those who drop pay-TV subscriptions in favor of watching movies and TV delivered over-the-top — remain rare, the number of mainstream consumers considering new viewing alternatives is growing.

In fact, the report, “CMB Consumer Pulse: The New Age of Television,” reveals cord “shavers” — who reduce rather than actually cut off their pay-TV service — are likely to account for a significant portion of cable TV subscribers in 2012. The report found 16 percent of those surveyed said they are “highly likely” to cut back on cable TV. Similarly, 20 percent of “high-value” subscribers, those who have an HD box, DVR and premium channels, said they are “likely” to cut back, the report found.

Among the cord shavers, 34 percent said it was likely they would switch from an HD box to an SD box, 18 percent said they were likely to reduce non-premium channels, 14 percent are likely to cut down on the number of boxes in the house and 12 percent are likely to reduce premium channels, according to the report.

The report indicates that although young people are most receptive to watching TV and movies online, a sizable percentage of older Americans also enjoy online entertainment. The report found that among 16- to 29-year-olds, 74 percent have watched online, and that among 30- to 49-year-olds, 55 percent have done so. Even among the two oldest age groups surveys, 50- to 69-year-olds and 70- to 75-year-olds, the percentage of those who have watched movies and TV online stood at 39 percent each.

According to the report, mobile in media consumption often trumps screen size. It found that 58 percent of tablet viewers watched on their portable flat screens while at home, and among those who watched television on tablets, 63 percent have used the tablet even when they could have been watching the same show on a television set.

The CMB Consumer Pulse survey is independent, self-funded research on emerging trends. The latest report on television is based on a survey of 1494 U.S. respondents between the ages of 16 and 75. Respondents have high-speed Internet access at home and watch at least two hours of television per week. The online survey was conducted in December 2011.

Read more: http://broadcastengineering.com/ott/Report-cord-shaving-Cable-TV-subscribers-02222012/#ixzz1n8set2hQ

Study: 63% Who Watch Video on Tablet Did So With TV Available

Originially Published from HomeMediaMagazine.com

A new study from market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey suggests major changes to TV-watching habits.

The study of more than 1,400 consumers showed more than half (54%) have tried alternatives to pay-TV (Netflix, Apple TV, etc.), with 16% of those studied saying they’re likely to reduce their level of pay-TV in the next year. And TV is not just losing out in the pay-service sense — 63% of people who recently watched TV on a tablet said they used a tablet even when they had access to a TV with similar content available, according to the study.

“These findings show every part of the consumer TV and movie watching experience is up for grabs,” says Jon Giegengack, director at Chadwick Martin Bailey. “In the digital music revolution, the primary shift was in how music was bought and stored. When it comes to TV and movies, everything has the potential to change: whom consumers buy from; how much they pay (if they pay at all); and the range of times and places offering viewing opportunities.”

Related Links :

Nielsen: 40% of Tablet, Smartphone Owners Use the Devices Daily While Watching TVPoll: 46% Say Tablets Will Replace Laptops

RapidTVNews: Tablets becoming screen of choice in radically changing landscape

Originally published on RapidTVNews

The TV industry is about to embark upon a 'radical shift' in TV consumption habits a new study from Chadwick Martin Bailey has found.

In what may shatter some preconceptions about the multiplatform world, the study found that nearly two-thirds (63%) of consumers who watch TV or video on a tablet did so even when there was a TV with the very same content available.

Alternatives to pay-TV such as Netflix, Apple TV, or even a network's website have already been tried by the majority (54%) of all consumers and the analyst asserts that as time goes by, an even greater shift will occur with consumers ready to adopt online TV viewing more broadly once providers develop a simple, reliable, and cost effective solution. Moreover, says the data in the Chadwick Martin Bailey survey, many of the prerequisites for this shift are already in place.

The survey also confirmed the growing importance of streaming compared to broadcasting. A significant number of viewers said that streaming content was not only acceptable, but preferred and the sample found streaming video twice as appealing as downloading and storing content on their own devices.

Another key defining trend was cost-cutting, the principal reason cited for dropping and cutting back on pay-TV and indeed not signing up for it in the first place. A fifth of what the analyst said were pay-TV's most valuable subscribers by ARPU indicated they were likely to cut back in the year ahead and that 16% of all pay-TV customers were likely to reduce their level of pay-TV service over the coming year.

"Consumers are ready to embrace a new method of accessing TV content," said Peter Fondulas, CMB's co-author on the project. "They've got motive, they've got interest, and a majority have already begun kicking the tires. What's missing now is the right platform and offer—something easy to use, understandable, reliable, and affordable. Various players are working hard to come up with that solution; as we learned from the music industry, the first one to offer it effectively will be in an extremely strong position."

1to1 Media: Satisfaction Surveys Can Increase Customer Engagement

Originally published on 1to1 Media

Forbes: Good News, Google And Apple TV: Studies Find Internet-TV Trends 'Irreversible'

Originally published on Forbes.com

Yesterday, Google announced that its next iteration of Google TV will land in the UK later this year. The search giant is getting ready for what could be an epic market-share battle with Apple, which again hinted at plans for a Smart TV push — as well as Microsoft, which continues to add TV features to its XBox console — and a whole host of start-ups seeking the Internet-based television viewing audience.

Here’s good news for them all: According to two studies released today, that audience is ready. But it also comes with two warnings:

1) Don’t assume that delivery to just one device is going to satisfy those would-be customers;

2) That audience is increasingly price-conscious.

Ooyala, a California-based online video management firm, reported rapid growth last quarter in all realms of Internet-delivered television watching. (Link is an Infographic.)

“While people are still watching much more traditional TV than streaming video, our data shows we’re on a clear and irreversible course toward an IP-delivered future,” said Bismarck Lepe, co-founder and president of products for Ooyala.

A large study released today by Boston-based research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey only confirms that notion.  ”OTT: The New Age of Television” surveyed nearly 1,500 U.S. consumers to measure their video viewing habits. They found a wide-ranging consumer base wants more of their television OTT (over-the-top), meaning anytime, anywhere on multiple devices.

“A profound shift has taken place in the balance between producer and consumer,” the report states, “from the former dictating how content will be packaged and delivered, to the latter insisting on entertainment where, when, and how they want it.”

Jon Giegengack, the report’s author, says some of the results even surprised researchers. In this email interview, Giegengack discusses what customers are doing that might scare cable/satellite companies the most, what they want most from Internet-based television and why they choose solutions over platforms.

Read the full article here: Good News, Google And Apple TV: Studies Find Internet-TV Trends 'Irreversible'

MediaPost: That's Entertainment: Screen Size Doesn't Matter

Originally Published in MediaPost's Marketing Daily

When it comes to watching entertainment programming, it turns out size doesn’t matter as much as people previously thought (or hoped).

According to a new study conducted by Chadwick Martin Bailey (CMB), consumers are using their tablets and smartphones to stream video programming at an increasing rate, and they’re doing it in their homes, where televisions are available. According to the survey of nearly 1,500 consumers, 58% of people who viewed programming on a tablet did so in their homes -- and of these, 63% did so even though the program they were watching was available on their televisions.

“The big media companies have been comforted in this notion that the biggest available screen is always going to win in any situation,” Peter Fondulas, founder of Fondulas Strategic Research, which worked on the project with CMB, tells Marketing Daily. “That may have been true a while ago, but people have become more open to devices and may even prefer [smaller screens] in some situations.”

The survey found significant members of all demographics have watched video programming through a device other than their televisions. While 74% of consumers ages 16-29 had watched programming online, 39% of consumers 50-75 had also watched a television program or movie online. And their preferred method of watching such programming is either through a network Web site (27%) or Netflix (24%). Only 12% of consumers said they watched through their TV provider’s Web portal (such as Comcast’s Xfinity.com).

Such findings could have serious repercussions as the cable and satellite industries work to continue their business models in the new era of Internet-connected television. According to the study, 43% of consumers said they’re likely to cut back on cable spending in the next year.

However, the companies’ greatest fear (consumers cutting the cord entirely and opting for an Internet-only model) is less likely. Only 3% said they’d cut their cable entirely. More likely, consumers will be looking to “shave” services, such as cutting premium and non-premium channels, removing HD boxes and cutting down the number of boxes in their houses.

“The people that we see shaving their pay TV service are in essence creating their own a la carte plan,” Jon Giegengack, a director at CMB, tells Marketing Daily. “My own hunch is that pay TV will have to switch to a model more like that. as there’s more attrition.”

With the inevitability that more people will look to the Internet to watch television and movie programming (particularly with more Internet-connected televisions in the home), the opportunity is wide open for a company to come in with a different model that appeals to consumers’ individual tastes, Giegengack says.

“One of the barriers we found [to cord shaving] was the ambiguity of what the options are and the services [consumers] have,” he says. “There’s this increasing group of people who are on deck and know that there are better of options available, but haven’t yet cut the service.”

The company that does succeed will likely have to be strong on the three fronts that consumers said were important to them: streamable content (as opposed to owned content), a wide variety of programming available and, most of all, ease of use. “Lots of companies are working hard at this, and it’s only a matter of time before someone does,” Fondulas says.

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/167850/thats-entertainment-screen-size-doesnt-matter.html?edition=43459#ixzz1mSVhH7s9

Quirks: Consumers view giving feedback as part of their job

Originally published on Quirks Blog

A Consumer Pulse study of over 1,400 U.S. consumers conducted by Boston researcher Chadwick Martin Bailey (CMB) and Denver-based iModerate Research Technologies looked at why customers complete customer satisfaction surveys and what they expect from companies and brands in return.

The study found customers give feedback as part of their “job” as a consumer, with 57 percent saying they do so to help improve the company. And customers don’t see themselves as passive but rather as empowered, active participants in helping companies improve how they do business.

When customers do have a negative experience they expect feedback or a response from the company and most often this is not what they receive. The research shows that only 35 percent of consumers recall getting a response from a company the last time they shared a negative experience.

“Customer satisfaction research is about much more than the data you get back. It’s about the opportunity to engage and often recover your customers after a bad experience,” said Jeff McKenna, senior consultant at Chadwick Martin Bailey, in a press release. “Most companies asking customers about a recent experience don’t take advantage of this opportunity to turn a service failure around. There is a real disconnect between the research and the action that needs to be taken; closing the door before closing the loop is a missed opportunity.”

The desire to help companies improve, and widespread dissatisfaction with companies’ response were also two common themes in iModerate’s one-on-one conversations with 21 Americans over age 18. In the words of respondents:

“The hope for change is definitely a motivator; I would not want someone else to have a bad experience.” – female, 25 to 29

“If the business wants to know how they are doing for their customers, then it is good to help them by giving them feedback, whether positive or negative. And that makes you feel like perhaps you have helped them.” – male, 40 to 44

“If they’re going to respond, I’d like it to be specific enough that it looks like a person read my comments and is responding to what I said. Not just a ‘thank you, have a nice day’ kind of response.” – female, 45 to 49

The positive news for companies is that half of customers complete satisfaction surveys to share a good experience, versus 35 percent who do so to register a complaint against the company. When companies respond personally, they have a chance to reconnect and deepen their relationship with their customers.

This study was done as part of Chadwick Martin Bailey’s self-funded CMB Consumer Pulse program. A report with additional findings from this study is available as a free download. Data was collected from 1,481 adults (aged 18 and over) via a nationally representative online survey questionnaire within the U.S. by Chadwick Martin Bailey in October of 2011. In addition, iModerate Research Technologies conducted one-on-one online conversations to gain a deeper understanding of what motivates consumers to participate in customer satisfaction surveys.

MSNBC.com: Red flags for online dating

Originally Published on MSNBC.com

Two years ago, a Match.com/Chadwick Martin Bailey study found that one in five new relationships and one in six new marriages are between people who met through an online dating site. But while it may be a great way to find your soul mate, you’ll be confronted with thousands of choices. And, like many other online offerings, the "product" received may not always be what was advertised. So improve your chance of success by keeping an eye out for the following red flags as you sort through potential date’s profiles:

Photos: Photos can tell you a lot about a potential date. No photo, or a grainy, out-of-focus or outdated photo, are a sign that the person probably has something to hide, or else is not really serious about the dating process. But Vondie Lozano, licensed marriage and family therapist, has some other not-so-obvious flags to add to the list.

• If they have a ton of photos, it could mean they’re a little self-absorbed.

• Do they have a photo of themselves with another person cut out of it? That’s a huge red flag on so many levels.

• Is there someone or something else in all of their photos? It’s good to have outside interests. But if their dog, friends, boat or even their kids are in ALL their photos, it may tell you a little about where you’ll stand in the scheme of things.

What he/she’s looking for: Requiring too much or too little are both red flags. You’ll never live up to the laundry list. If the person really doesn’t care, they’re probably looking for a “date,” not a relationship, or he or she may be looking to scam you.

Neuharth also notes that while it’s common for men to want to date women younger than themselves, if there's too much of an age gap, it's a sign he’s probably not looking for an equal partner in the relationship.

By Suzanne Kantra, Techlicious.com