TORONTO – Over 1,000 CTAM members – including 75 from the Canadian chapter – participated in a CTAM teleseminar designed to examine how consumers are using content across the television, Internet and mobile platforms.
Moderated by Will Richmond, the editor and publisher of VideoNuze, senior representatives from Comcast, Cox, Rainbow Media and NBC Universal: Sports and Olympics discussed the “evolution” of consumers in the three screen media world, and revealed how they plan to keep up with those expectations.
According to recent CTAM research, between 6 to 8 million homes in the U.S. have converged their broadband and television content. While that number may seem small, the four panelists agreed that these early adopters (or “extreme techies/modern media mavens” as they were referred to), are an early indication of what is coming.
So why are viewers migrating to multi-screens? It’s simply part of the on-demand ‘I want what I want when I want it’ shift in consumer expectations, said Amy Banse, president of Comcast Interactive Media and SVP of Comcast Corp., who added that the cable industry has little choice but to respond to their demands.
Comcast is currently testing an authentication product called ‘TV Everywhere’ which allows customers to consume content on the screen of their choosing, Banse said, describing the initial interest in the product as “strong”.
Cox Communication’s SVP of strategy and product management Dallas Clement took the question one step further. “Are they (consumers) using the Internet to find and view content because it is not on television at all, or because they want it on demand?” he queried.
He went on to plug his company’s new product ‘My Primetime’ which will house “the content that the majority of viewers want to watch” on a system that also allows consumers the choice of which device they view it on.
Perkins Miller, the SVP of digital media for NBC Universal: Sports and Olympics said that the issue boils down to a matter of access and convenience, specifically, which device is most convenient at the time a consumer wants to see particular content.
But how can an ISP offer a great broadband experience when consumers now rely on it much like a utility? Rather than prioritizing one screen over another, Clement said that Cox has consciously chosen to manage the balance between ‘old’ and ‘new’ technologies by billing themselves as a “trusted provider”.
“We shoot for the average users with availability, simplicity and reliability, not necessarily innovation”, he said. “We want to make it a trusted experience overall”.
Miller approached the question from the opposite angle, saying that content across multiple screens satisfies the demands of all audiences.
“Touching them on every platform creates loyalty”, he said while describing how NBC created device-specific Olympic content. “The audience becomes more invested in the experience and the product. It reinforces the value proposition back to the consumer”.
David Evans, Rainbow Media’s SVP of broadband, agreed with Miller’s theory. “To expand your audience in a meaningful way, you must engage in one-on-one relationships with them”, he said.
So will consumers ever give up their TVs in favour of their PCs, a concept referred to as “cord cutting”?
Not a chance said Miller, who feels that it is still the content, and not the novelty of the device, that drives demand. “No one is giving up their 42” plasma in the living room”, he said.
However, if programmers put their content on-line for free, cord-cutting could happen in increasing numbers, Banse said, calling it “a dangerous trend for distributors and programmers”.
At least until media measurement companies can refine their on-line rating processes, Evans replied. “Then perhaps the cable companies could become the content aggregators and take the control from the programmers”, he suggested.
Banse disagreed. “Free on-line content with ads is not going to work. We need an on-line business model that still makes it convenient and accessible in a way that monetizes programming.”
Tweaking ads to suit each platform is the best way to go, Miller said, noting that NBC’s research found that brand and message recall increased when an advertiser was featured across all three screens.
Clement echoed Miller’s sentiments. “Broader brand awareness is still best for TV, local is best for mobile, and for more information, people will turn to their PCs”.
Looking ahead ten years, all four panelists agreed that the biggest difference in the multi-screen environment would be transparency across all devices, or what Banse referred to as a “windowless environment”.
“We’ll see less fragmentation, and technology will not be an impediment, it will be about the experience”, Clement said.
Miller predicted that access and personalization will be the key drivers of media consumption. “Hopefully attached to a viable business model” Banse quipped, amid laughter.
