• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, June 29, 2006

The reality TV craze still exists--at least among video-on-demand users. Although ratings have fallen for top reality shows, except for "American Idol," a new survey shows that VOD users are 27 percent more likely than the general population to watch reality programs.

While the findings may be surprising considering ratings drops for shows like "The Apprentice" and "Survivor," the soaring "Idol" and new hit "Deal or No Deal" could account for the results in the Scarborough Research report.

Behind the reality genre, VOD users were more likely to view music videos (24 percent more), news magazines (22 percent), science fiction (21 percent), and dramas (18 percent) than the general audience. Notably absent is the comedy genre, which has suffered from a lack of new hits, and movies, which are widely available on pay-cable VOD such as services from HBO and Showtime.

The Scarborough report, which surveyed consumers who live in VOD households over the last month, confirmed some widely held beliefs about the demographics of VOD users: that they tend to skew younger and more upscale, and are more tech-savvy. VOD users are 27 percent more likely to be in the 18-to-24 age group, and more than twice as likely to have annual household incomes of $150,000-plus, according to the report. They are also 50 percent more likely than the general population to spend 20 or more hours online each week.

"Consumer usage of VOD services is gaining momentum across the country and marketers are seeking ways to use it to their advantage," said Carol Edwards, vice president, cable services, Scarborough Research, which tracks consumer behavior.

VOD ad models are still being developed, with advertisers slowly experimenting with the emerging platform and attempting to determine its effectiveness. One hurdle for advertisers and agencies is a measurement system that can track ad exposure, including whether a spot or billboard is fast-forwarded through.

Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Cohen wrote this week that "advertisers are still only in the early stages of trying to determine the best way to take advantage of VOD and target consumers better."

Scarborough says 7 percent of the population lives in a home with VOD.

The Scarborough report also found that VOD users are 27 percent more likely to be African-American. And they are 15 percent more likely to have spent $3,000 or more on home improvements in the past year.