Canadians expect converged content to look a lot like television: CNM poll

Canadians seem to want the Internet to deliver what they’re already watching on television, according to preliminary results from a national poll commissioned by Canadian NEW MEDIA from Decima Research Inc. The poll of 2,007 Canadians conducted in January found that news and current affairs topped the list of programming they’re interested in watching, with a high level of interest in sports, entertainment and how-to shows. While watching movies on the web is still in its early stages, there is interest in the idea, particularly among respondents who don’t currently view such content online. There are also early indications that consumers are willing to pay for video online, if the library is large enough and they’re allowed to download it. Among those who say they currently watch video on the ‘Net, a majority, 55.9 per cent, say they’re tuning in to news and public affairs programs. A scant 28 per cent said they watch business news, nearly 43 per cent chose sports, 44.7 per cent say they watch entertainment programming and only 21.6 per cent say they’ve been consuming how-to programs. The results also reveal that people tend to watch television-like services on their home PC, rather than at work. In a telling statistic, of those who say they watch video-on-the-’Net, over 86 per cent say they do so mostly from home. Of those who say they don’t currently watch video on the ‘Net, but have at least some interest in doing so, the numbers are much the same. Asked what their interest was in watching certain types of programming, at a very or somewhat interested level, just over 50 per cent said news and public affairs, 43 per cent chose business news, 38.5 per cent said sports, 49 per cent picked entertainment and a large group of 59.8 per cent said movies. These preliminary numbers bear out industry trends of late. Video-on-demand initiatives such as CineRoute and CinemaNow (see stories this issue) are expanding operations while some high profile projects such as WorkdayTV.com (CNM, April 20/00) have folded. In light of new figures which show that the vast majority of Canadians are viewing video from their home computers, not work, and that business news doesn’t interest as many viewers as other forms of programming, it may not be surprising that Workday, which was oriented to the at-work user, didn’t attract a large audience or advertising revenues. On the other hand, the figures should be encouraging for broadcasters who have decades worth of experience with programming mixes and for new entrants such as iCraveTV.com and JumpTV.com, which want to re-transmit existing TV signals as well as purchase and stream original content. The level of interest in using video-over-the-Internet varies widely among different groups, including a split between early adopters and late-comers to multimedia. But ISPs and content aggregators will find it interesting that at least a small portion of respondents indicated a willingness to pay for content on a subscription model. Especially among those who already watch video, there is a significant segment who said they would pay at least $10 monthly to receive programming. Canadians might even be willing to pay a bit more if companies include online access to a library of on-demand titles, the survey reveals. Throw in the right to copy programming, and consumers may be willing to pay even more, the poll suggests. Making both those options available also increased the likelihood that customers would be willing to buy the overall package. A full report on the figures, which explore video-streaming demand, ISP satisfaction, broadband penetration and other Internet-related research will be available this spring.

Canadians expect converged content to look a lot like television: CNM poll

News | 03/08/2001 5:00 am EST

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