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.
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."
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