The survey of nearly 14,000 consumers across 13 countries found that:
One of the survey's more striking discoveries, says the report, is the big difference in behaviors of consumers in less-developed markets versus those in more-developed markets. Respondents in Mexico, Brazil and Malaysia were nearly three times as likely as those in United States, Germany and the United Kingdom to express interest in watching television content on mobile phones, ranging from 65-71% of respondents in these three less-developed countries but only from 22-26% for those in the more-developed countries.
The survey also revealed that, in every age group, consumers are more decisive about their viewing preferences, particularly in mature content marketplaces like Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom. This change indicates that consumers are quickly forming opinions on how they feel about content and how and where it's viewed.
David Wolf, a senior executive with Accenture's Media & Entertainment practice, concludes that "Consumers are making choices based on what they've tried, liked and rejected and are now selecting content and its delivery platforms... the modes of consumption that provide an alternative to the traditional TV experience are becoming part of everyday life... "
Despite more alternatives like the Internet and on-screen program guides, 40% of consumers use commercials to find content they would like to watch, 33% channel surf, 30% look to recommendations from friends and family, and 28% to TV listings.
And, even with the downturn in the global economy, 49% of consumers are willing to pay for digital service programming, up from 37% in last year's survey, and 40% said they would prefer to watch ads in exchange for free content.
Among those willing to pay for content:
According to the survey, the biggest net revenue loss (vs. last year) will be in DVD sales, down 6 percentage points, followed by on demand video, down 5 percentage points, and downloading content to a mobile phone or PC, 3 percentage points down. Subscription content showed no change, with the number of respondents saying they would spend less, equal to the number who would spend more.
More information on Accenture's Global Broadcast Consumer Survey can be found here.
Studies that ask people to describe their TV viewing as opposed to more precise electronic tracking systems such as Nielsen's meters, frequently produce very different results. When you ask a person to estimate how much time he or she spends with TV you frequently get a 25% understatement relative to a "peoplemeter" measurement. And people often forget incidental exposures when asked about the programs or channels they watch. So, the fact that respondents claimed more programs and channels viewed in this study compared to another conducted earlier, does not necessarily mean that people are watching more TV. It's true that, as TV viewing continues to fragment, people are being exposed to more channels and program sources, however there is only so much time one can spend on television in its totality. Therefore more channels viewed usually means less time spent per channel.