PWC Study: More TV Now Viewed On Computer Than TV

Traditional VOD not high On list Of distribution choices

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/7/2011 4:49:58 PM

Consumers are spending about 20 hours per week accessing digital content-including video games and print content--on a cell phone, computer, or mobile device, with the majority of that TV shows, movies and other videos.

That is according to a just-released consumer research study from PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers). The study found that across all age groups, respondents watched 12.4 hours of TV shows/videos and movies online, while only 8.9 hours of that content on network TV and basic and pay cable.

Not surprisingly, the 44 and under crowd do the majority of that digital viewing, but even the 45-59 age group was close to even, with 9 hours of traditional video watching vs. 8.3 hours of online video viewing.

Mobile devices trailed as the screen of preference, in line with PWC's forecasts that mobile TV is a very small percentage (1%) of the total TV subscription marketplace. The study found that 80% of respondents would not pay a premium for early access to content on their mobile device.

When asked about the ways they obtain movie content, only 12.9% cited purchasing via VOD from their cable company, which put that ninth on the list behind streaming from Hulu for free (30.7%), renting from an actual brick and mortar store (23.3%), or borrowing one from a friend or relative (19.8%). The two top answers were renting an actual copy from a Netflix (42.6%) and renting an online copy (31.7%).

The study was based on a survey of 560 people, including focus groups. The margin of error is 5%-10%.

The FCC has been promoting moving broadcasters off some of their spectrum to free it up for high-bandwidth broadband delivery of, among other things, video. It has also in the midst of a proceeding to figure out how to unite online and traditional video through the TV set to use that as a way to drive broadband adoption given that 99% of homes have a TV set already, while only 75%-80% have a computer.