• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, July 5, 2004

DVR Users Watch More Video-on-Demand

A new report from Lyra Research, A Survey of Video-on-Demand User, reveals that digital video recorder (DVR) users watch more video-on-demand (VOD) programs than non-DVR users, and these findings held true for both free and paid VOD. This consumer behavior may be surprising to cable-service providers as it challenges a widespread industry assumption that DVR and VOD technologies are competing for viewers' usage.

VOD Programs Watched in Prior 30 Days

User Type	Free VOD Programs	Paid VOD Programs
DVR User	10.9	2.7
Non-DVR User	7.1	1.6

Source: Lyra Research, Apr-May 2004

Steve Hoffenberg, principal analyst for the DTV View report series director of electronic media research for Lyra, said "We had anticipated that the DVR users would watch less free VOD than the non-DVR users because DVR users can readily time shift and control their TV shows without using VOD. Our findings may be because VOD offered content that was not available via broadcast or because the DVR users are more experienced than non-DVR users with time shifting and more comfortable operating menu-driven systems for selecting programs. This will be an important topic area to clarify in future DTV View research."

Hoffenberg adds, "Video-on-demand enables consumers to watch premium content on their own schedules and without a trip to the video store. However, VOD usage is fairly low, the program offerings are limited, and the technology doesn't inspire much consumer enthusiasm."

The survey, based on users of cable-TV VOD services in the United States, provides snapshots of existing VOD users' behaviors and attitudes toward this emerging technology, including comparisons to video rental in retail stores and reactions to several proposed advertising models.

You can find out more here.