According to the latest ChangeWave survey of business professionals between the ages of 45 and 63 on TV viewing habits vs. home Internet usage, these Boomers spend more free time online than they
do watching traditional TV. And, by a five-to-one margin, Boomers are watching less traditional television than they did a year ago. Among this group, 62% say it's because they're not as
interested in what's on TV these days, and another 26% say they're spending more time surfing the web.
Traditional TV Viewing vs. Online Activities (% of Respondents, May 2009) |
Screen
Viewing | Hours Per Week |
Non-business hours online | 12.9 |
Hours watching traditional TV | 11.8 |
Source: ChangeWave Research, July 2009 |
Among traditional TV viewers, 20% say they're likely to
downgrade or cancel their current TV service package in the next 6 months. The likelihood of canceling is highest among Cable subscribers (22%) and Satellite subscribers (22%), and lowest among
fiber-optic TV subscribers (7%).
TV Service appears most vulnerable, scoring significantly worse than any other subscription service, when Boomer respondents were asked which one paid
subscription they'd be most willing to give up.
One Paid Subscription
Service Most Likely To Give Up If Necessary (% of Respondents, May 2009) |
Subscription Willing to Sacrifice | % of Respondents |
TV service | 44% |
Home telephone | 23 |
DVD/Movie rental | 11 |
Internet | 5 |
Newspaper | 4 |
Magazines | 3 |
Cell phone | 3 |
Source: ChangeWave Research, July 2009 |
In addition,
according to the study, video-over-the-Internet now clearly represents a significant threat to traditional TV viewing:
- 69% of Boomers say they've watched video content on their
computer over the past 90 days
- 48% of respondents say they'd be willing to pay a monthly fee for a Video-over-the-Internet subscription if it provided the same programming
currently available on their TV service
- 79% watch YouTube.com as the leading online website Boomers use to watch video
- 39% TV Network Websites
- 16%
Hulu.com
- 11% iTunes
While Boomers clearly want to see fewer ads than they do with conventional broadcasting, 68% say they are willing to view at least some ads online.
Video Advertising vs. Broadcast Advertising (% of Respondents Willing
to View on Computer Compared to Broadcast TV) |
How Many Ads | % of Respondents |
As many | 3% |
Not as many | 18 |
Dramatically fewer | 47 |
None | 22 |
Source: ChangeWave Research, July 2009 |
According to the findings of the study, one place that Boomer
professionals are spending more time online is with social networking sites, where 51% say they currently maintain one or more profiles. Nearly three-in-five of these Boomers report they use the
networking site LinkedIn, while another 55% have a Facebook profile, the site normally thought to be most popular among teenagers.
Profile on Social Networking Service (% of Respondents Using Social Network Websites, May 2009) |
Network | % With Profile |
LInkedin | 57% |
Facebook | 55 |
Classmates | 22 |
Twitter | 16 |
MySpace | 12 |
Source: ChangeWave Research, July 2009 |
77% of users say they
would not be willing to pay a subscriber fee for social networking. Of all the services, LinkedIn is the most likely to attract paid subscribers with 7% say they'd be willing to pay a fee if it
was no longer free.
The report summarizes by noting that the shift among Boomers towards Video-over-the-Internet is a long-term trend that bodes poorly for traditional TV service providers, as
they face challenges:
- 20% of Boomers are likely to downgrade (or cancel) their current TV service in the next 6 months, mostly among Cable and Satellite users
- 44%
say TV service is the paid subscription they are most willing to give up
- 48% said they'd be willing to pay a monthly fee for a Video-over-the-Internet subscription if it provided
the same programming currently available on their TV service
For additional information from ChangeWave, please visit here.