TV Everywhere Unknown But Being Used More

While relatively few people know what TV Everywhere is, a majority of pay-TV subscribers are using the web and apps to access programming on digital devices.

A new survey by research company GfK found that 53% of pay-TV households have used a TV Everywhere service, up from 43% in 2012, when a similar study was taken.

Mobile devices are the driver of that growth and monthly use has doubled since 2012 for mobile apps and websites from both providers and networks, GfK said.

The survey found that 80% said content was easy to find, up from 74%, and 79% said logging in was easy, up from 73%. But 60% said that logging in with a password deterred them from using TV Everywhere. That’s high, but down from 70% in 2012.

Looking up their TV Everywhere password was difficult according to 59% of those surveyed.

Only 25% of people in pay-TV households said they were aware of the term TV Everywhere or the logo the industry is using, up slightly from 22% in 2012. And just 4% recognized the logo alone.

“Consumer education continues to be a critical missing piece of the puzzle for TV Everywhere,” said David Tice, senior VP in Media and Entertainment at GfK. “With a notable proportion of people in pay TV homes already using TVE, greater awareness and understanding of the services could drive even higher adoption. Greater success of TV Everywhere could help pay TV services stave off becoming ‘dumb’ broadband pipes, and also assist TV networks in maintaining their status as the original aggregators of high quality video content.”

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.