|
|
an end to TV ads
Study: Viewers will watch messages that engage
By Elizabeth White
Personal video recorders like TiVo have hardly been available to consumers for a year, but folks are already studying their use as an anthropological-style curiosity.
Ever since the devices debuted, those in the media industry have worried about what will happen once audiences no longer rely on commercials to make a dash for the kitchen or to check the score of a game on another channel.
The latest study on PVR use is an in-depth, ethnographic approach to understanding how a handful of households used the devices.
Because the sample size was so small—fewer than 10 households out of Statistical Research’s semi-annual "Home Technology Monitor" survey of 4,000 people had PVRs—the researchers took a more descriptive approach, visiting the subjects at home and watching the recorders in action.
But the researchers’ findings give clues about what might happen once most consumers can record multiple programs at once and zap commercials with the punch of a button.
In general, people exercised more control over what they watched, choosing to watch only the programs, commercials, or segments of shows they wanted and erasing the rest.
And most surprising, researchers found that people with PVRs still watched some commercials, despite having the ability to skip ads.
This was either because they were interested in the product, enjoyed the commercial, or were too lazy to skip the commercials.
"The thing about commercials is that it’s a complex pattern. Almost all said, ‘I don’t watch commercials anymore.’ Then we would observe them watching commercials," said John Carey, director of Greystone Communications, which carried out the ethnographic study for Statistical Research.
"It has a negative impact on commercials but doesn’t wipe them out," says Carey. "In TiVo, you see the picture pretty clearly, so if people saw something that was interesting, they would stop or rewind to watch it."
This conclusion offers some hope for those in the media industry who have worried that these devices will eliminate the relevance of commercial breaks.
"What it argues for is that if the commercial is appropriate, and in an appropriate environment, then people watch it," says Lyle Schwartz, senior vice president and director of media research at Media Edge.
"With the current penetration [of PVRs], it’s not something to be concerned with yet. The question will be when this type of penetration is enough to affect the marketplace. Agencies will have to adapt and utilize the technology," says Schwartz.
Carey agrees that commercials will simply evolve with the technology.
"Commercials are going to have to be more entertaining and think through whether people are scanning," says Carey. "More advertisements will go into programs, whether with product placement or sponsorships. It may go back to a 1950s model of TV sponsors."
The other significant conclusion from the study was that people with PVRs watched TV in a more efficient and concentrated manner.
Such a change in viewing habits could do more damage to shows with segments that rely on a "coming up next" gimmick, like talk shows or news programs, than to the commercials themselves.
"[The subjects] liked programming that was long form because they could watch it much more quickly. One person had nine hours of the Olympics recorded that he watched in two hours," said Carey. "They would watch the segments of Letterman they wanted, like the monologue, and erase the rest."
Now that’s a TV viewing evolution that the networks should be concerned about.
April 4, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
-Elizabeth White is a staff writer for Media Life
Printer-Friendly
Version | Send
to a Friend
Cover Page | Contact
Us
