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not so its tools
Study: Viewers high on some of basic functions
By Kevin Downey
Nothing quite bores the American public as much as the notion of interactive TV.
Yet it's quite another thing when it comes to the functions ITV offers, reports a new study from Optimum Media.
Optimum researchers found that respondents are quite interested in using ITV to gather more information about breaking news or detailed overviews of programming content.
These are some of the least high-tech functions that ITV offers.
Interestingly, researchers found that respondents were far less interested in those purer interactive functions that are often touted by the ITV industry, like buying products with a click on the TV screen.
"It’s enhancing the TV experience by their being able to get information while they are watching TV, either about the advertising or the content they are seeing," says Beth Uyenco, senior vice president and director of media research at Optimum Media.
Only 33 percent of respondents, for example, have a strong interest in ITV overall, according to the study, which was conducted online with 400 adults in Griffin Bacal’s Livewire panel.
But 67 percent of respondents say they would be extremely or very likely to use it to get more in-depth information on news.
Some 49 percent say they would use it to get additional information on a program’s subject matter.
About 32 percent of respondents and 46 percent of male respondents say they are extremely or very likely to use ITV for sports statistics, and 25 percent say they would use it to get information on an advertised product.
ITV, in its purest form, is struggling to rouse couch potatoes and transform them into active viewers, a group that Optimum Media refers to as "armchair actives."
It seems viewers only want to get active enough to vote in a viewer poll, which 45 percent of respondents say they would use ITV for, or play along with a game show (42 percent).
Buying a product seen on TV, in contrast, is something that only 17 percent of respondents say they would be likely to do, while 16 percent say they would use it to chat with other TV viewers.
"Television is a passive endeavor; it requires no work," Uyenco says.
But, she says, as ITV evolves and grows advertisers need to be ready to reach consumers who are more actively involved to some degree with the television.
"Whatever it is we do has to be within the realm of entertainment, especially if it’s a low-involvement product. If it’s a service or product that takes a more considered purchase, if not entertainment, perhaps we can embed it in appropriate programming."
A radical change from today’s passive viewing environment to an active one seems unlikely, at least at this early stage in ITV’s development.
Currently ITV is only in one percent of homes, according to Optimum Media, although about 67 percent of respondents to the study say they have heard of it.
Uyenco says the study was the first of several conducted to better understand new opportunities to reach consumers that ITV may present to advertisers.
Overall, interactive TV is essentially of equal interest by age and gender, it was found.
Younger respondents are a bit more likely to say they are interested. And specific areas, like getting additional information on a program’s content or sports, are of more interest to women and men, respectively.
In addition, interest in ITV is more pronounced among respondents who are already heavy users of media in general.
The lightest viewers of TV and the lightest users of the internet, for example, are 27 and 64 percent, respectively, less likely to be interested in ITV.
INTERACTIVE
TV |
|
|
Opinion |
% of Respondents |
|
Good Idea |
33 |
|
Great Idea |
31 |
|
Like It, Don't Think Would Use |
29 |
|
Not of Interest |
7 |
|
Source: Optimum Media (a
division of DDB Worldwide), Nov. 2000
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|
|
INTERACTIVE TV
|
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GENDER |
AGE |
|||||
|
Interest Level |
Adults 18+ |
Men 18+ |
Women 18+ |
Adults 18-34 |
Adults 35-49 |
Adults 50+ |
|
STRONG INTEREST |
33% |
32% |
33% |
37% |
30% |
31% |
|
Extremely Interested |
13% |
12% |
14% |
19% |
11% |
8% |
|
Very Interested |
20% |
20% |
19% |
18% |
19% |
23% |
|
SOMEWHAT INTERESTED |
42% |
43% |
42% |
41% |
44% |
43% |
|
NOT INTERESTED |
25% |
25% |
25% |
22% |
26% |
26% |
|
Not Very Interested |
18% |
16% |
20% |
18% |
17% |
18% |
|
No Interest Whatsoever |
7% |
9% |
5% |
4% |
9% |
8% |
|
Source: Optimum Media (a division of DDB Worldwide), Nov. 2000 |
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INTERACTIVE TV
|
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GENDER |
AGE |
|||||
|
Extremely or Very Likely to Use |
Adults 18+ |
Men 18+ |
Women 18+ |
Adults 18-34 |
Adults 35-49 |
Adults 50+ |
|
More info on news events |
67% |
67% |
66% |
67% |
68% |
66% |
|
More info on show's subject matter |
49% |
43% |
56% |
49% |
49% |
50% |
|
Vote in viewer poll |
45% |
39% |
52% |
41% |
41% |
54% |
|
Play along with game shows |
42% |
36% |
47% |
44% |
42% |
40% |
|
Get more sports stats |
32% |
46% |
19% |
37% |
31% |
28% |
|
Get info on advertised product |
25% |
23% |
26% |
22% |
26% |
25% |
|
Buy product seen in show / commercial |
17% |
17% |
18% |
20% |
19% |
13% |
|
Get info on actors |
17% |
16% |
17% |
22% |
16% |
13% |
|
Chat with other viewers |
16% |
15% |
16% |
15% |
14% |
18% |
|
Source: Optimum Media (a division of DDB Worldwide), Nov. 2000 |
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INTERACTIVE TV |
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Program Type |
Like to Watch |
Suitable for ITV |
|
News |
76% |
83% |
|
Game Shows |
53% |
76% |
|
Talk Shows |
43% |
69% |
|
Sports |
48% |
66% |
|
Cooking |
35% |
64% |
|
Biographies |
49% |
50% |
|
Court Shows |
34% |
48% |
|
Decorating |
24% |
44% |
|
Movies |
78% |
37% |
|
Soap Operas |
20% |
32% |
|
Dramas |
71% |
31% |
|
Music Videos |
25% |
31% |
|
Sitcoms |
68% |
26% |
|
Cartoons |
21% |
12% |
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Source: Optimum Media (a division of DDB Worldwide), Nov. 2000
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-Kevin Downey is a staff writer for Media Life.
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