• Ad Age, Wednesday, March 8, 2006 10:31 AM

A study by Frank Magid N. Magid Associates reveals that consumers who own Apple iPods or are contemplating purchasing one would gladly tolerate some advertising in exchange for free downloads of TV shows. The survey presumed a single 30-second advertisement per show. "It appears that the option to download content of choice for free will dramatically increase interest in purchasing a video iPod, thus potentially increasing video iPod sales and penetration," the study concluded. While not conclusive--the survey is not regarded as comprehensive--it strongly suggests that both Apple, which developed and sells the iPod, and the TV networks themselves have huge profits to reap if only the download business model were modified to include ads along with downloads. "We believe that if there's free content out there, it will get people to buy the machines and sample the content," says Mike Vorhaus, managing director of Magid Associates.

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