• by Wayne Friedman , September 9, 2016

TV viewers are now quicker to leave TV shows they love because they can be too difficult to find -- and/or too costly.

A global TiVo study of 5,550 pay TV and over-the-top (OTT) subscribers says 37% have stopped watching a TV program -- called “show dumping” -- because it became too difficult to access the content.

The TV programs most named were ones that require a premium pay-TV package, are only available through paid OTT and/or are unavailable on OTT services that aggregate content.

Discovery is a key issue: 40% of viewers turn off TV sets or other devices when they can’t find something to watch.

Almost half -- 47% -- say the price tag for TV-video means it should be easier to find what they want to watch. More the half of Millennials -- 53% -- often expect recommendations on what else to watch, versus 14% of baby boomers and 36% for gen-xers.

This week, Rovi Corp. completed its $1.1 billion acquisition of TiVo and will adopt the TiVo name. Rovi makes TV program guides for pay TV providers and other companies.

TiVo says viewers spend four hours each day watching or streaming video content -- with an additional 19 minutes per day searching for something to watch. U.S. viewers top the global average with more than five-and-a-half hours of viewing time per day.

Cord-shaving/cutting remain major issues -- with U.S. viewers higher than the global average.

Some 21% are extremely likely to cord-shave and downgrade pay-TV services, while 13% are considering cutting the cord altogether. Looking globally, 11% are extremely likely to downgrade, with 8% likely to cancel.