• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, December 16, 2009

According to the findings of a new Knowledge Networks report, How People Use Video Navigation, about the ways in which people learn about and ultimately decide to watch video on TV, television ads are the most important source for discovering new programs and deciding what to watch on TV, with verbal word of mouth coming in second for discovery, and third for decision making (behind interactive program guides).

Verbal word of mouth was also the top source for learning about and deciding to watch online videos, while search engines were the second most-cited way of learning about online video.

Another similarity between viewers of TV and of streaming video is seen in the levels of "purposeful" viewing: people going to watch with specific programs or content in mind.

• Among TV viewers, 44% say they usually turn the TV on with the intent to watch a specific program;
• Among people who use streaming video to watch full-length TV episodes or movies, the proportion of purposeful viewing is 56%
• Viewers of non-professional or amateur content using streaming video report only 22% of purposeful viewing

Program Discovery and Viewing Decisions: TV vs. Online (% of viewers who regularly use source as a means of content discovery or making decisions)
	TV Viewers		Online Viewers
	Discovery of TV content	Decisions at time of viewing	Discovery of streaming content	Decisions at time of viewing
TV ads	46%	37%	24%	19%
TV IPG	21	32	n/a	n/a
Verbal word of mouth	38	27	41	33
Search engines	n/a	n/a	32	19
Social media (family/friends)	14	8	20	11
Social media (others)	6	5	16	7
Stories or reviews on TV	32	24	24	14
Stories or reviews on Internet	12	7	27	14
Non-interactive program guide	14	21	n/a	n/a
Source: Quantitative survey of 601 KnowledgePanel® members

David Tice, Vice President and Group Account Director of Knowledge Networks, concludes and suggests "... On TV, the interactive program guide remains largely underutilized for promotion... And, with online video... too much emphasis on social media sources, such as tweets from celebrities, as direct drivers of viewing... 'in-person' word of mouth and search, even TV ads or coverage, show more influence in the online space."

For more from Knowledge Networks, please go here.