One of the biggest knocks on TV Everywhere is that cable subscribers don’t know or don’t understand what it is. But a recent Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing report shows that dynamic is changing.
TV Everywhere offerings now reach 49% of multichannel video programming distributor customers 18 to 64, according the CTAM report, conducted this past April in partnership with Hub Entertainment Research. More importantly, nearly 50% of MV PD customers say that they are definitely aware of the TV Everywhere experience and have said they watch TV shows on multiple devices after signing in with their account credentials or watch shows through their distributor’s website or apps.
The latter fact is very important because one of the criticisms on TV Everywhere is that it’s clunky and not easy to access. With each network offering a different online experience with their on demand product, the consumer’s interface with TV Everywhere products is not as simple as that for online content competitors like Netlfix and Hulu.
The fact that 55% of respondents said that TV Everywhere makes a cable, telco or satellite subscription a better value for the money bodes well for the future of traditional TV distribution.
Also, with 44% of subscribers reported to have signed in at least once to view TV content in the past six months means that consumers are willing to take the time to understand and access the great entertainment and sports programming that cable networks are offering on and on demand basis.
And there is a lot of great product available. CTAM this week will oversee a four-day rollout of new and established shows as part of the cable portion of the Television Critics Association summer tour in Beverly Hills. Nearly 25 networks will showcase their upcoming shows and stars for more than 200 TV writers, adding to what is already a cornucopia of quality scripted and reality shows currently on the air.
And the tally doesn’t include networks like USA Network, FX, ABC Family, Disney Channel, Showtime, and Syfy, which will present their new shows alongside their respective broadcast network brethren during the broadcast TV portion of the tour which starts after cable leaves the stage.
