TWC-CBS Battle Shifts Consumer TV Perceptions

A couple of TV brand names have seen consumer perception shifts in and around the CBS-Time Warner battle.

While Time Warner and now CBS have seen some natural data declines, other TV brands -- DirecTV and Verizon FiOS  -- have showed some recent consumer perception gains, according to U.K.-based online market researcher YouGov BrandIndex’s Buzz score.

Time Warner Cable now stands at a -11, down from a 0 score on July 1. On that date, CBS' score was a 2. But since the beginning of August, when Time Warner Cable took key CBS stations off the air, CBS has moved into negative territory -- now at -5, although not as negative a score as the large U.S. cable operator. During the same period, CBS Corp. Showtime’s score drifted lower -- to a 4 from a 7.

Since late July, DirecTV’s score rose to a 9 from a 7, while Verizon FiOS added one -- to a 5 from a 4. YouGov credits a recent DirecTV on-air promotion featuring NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning for its upward move.

YouGov had people in the survey responding to the online question:  "If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?"  

YouGov BrandIndex says it interviews 4,300 people each weekday from a representative U.S. population sample -- more than 1.5 million interviews per year. Respondents are drawn from an online panel of more than 2 million.

YouGov did not disclose the other TV brands -- or who tallied the highest buzz perception score during the periods between April and August.

While gains were made recently for DirecTV and Verizon, a number of TV brands overall have declined since April. At the start of that month, DirecTV was a leader with a 12 buzz score; Showtime was at a 7; FiOS, a 6; CBS, a 3; and Time Warner a -2.

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3 comments about "TWC-CBS Battle Shifts Consumer TV Perceptions".
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  1. Mike Mellon from Retired TV research guru, August 20, 2013 at 5:42 p.m.

    I am certain this will immediately cause TWC and CBS to settle.

  2. Theresa M. Moore from Antellus, August 21, 2013 at 1:46 p.m.

    I miss CBS's sister station KCAL 9, with its thorough 2 hour long news blocks. When there is nothing on TV for an hour, I used to go there. I learned more about my local neighborhood. Now that the channel is "blocked" by TWC I have to rely on the same old news channels which feed me the same old common feed pablum. It is frustrating.

  3. Skip Harris from Harris Communications, August 23, 2013 at 8:35 p.m.

    Another point of view says CBS has not given TWC permission to retransmit KCAL and KCBS through their "retransmission consent" agreement and therefore, CBS has forced TWC to remove CBS content from their cable system (KCAL, KCBS and Showtime - which CBS tied to their retransmission consent agreement).

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