iPlayer – Decipher Media Research

Decipher’s VOD Audit Q3 2013: YouView now provide more catch-up TV than Sky

November 4, 2013

Decipher’s latest VOD Audit reveals YouView is now the largest catch-up TV provider in the UK, growing by 24% to offer 2,677 assets. This gives it the lead over Sky by 85 assets with the satellite provider’s catch-up service totaling 2,592 assets, reflecting 11% growth since June. Importantly however, Sky’s claims to having the largest catch-up service still have some grounds: Their service offers far more breadth, giving subscribers access to content from up to 32 channels compared to YouView’s 15.

Looking at total video on demand on services audited in this quarter (which excludes iTunes and Google Play until next quarter), the most on demand is available through Sony’s Playstation Store, accessed via the Playstation 3 games console; the Store offers access to over 24,100 episodes and movies. The Audit places Blinkbox in second (20,800 assets) with Microsoft’s Xbox Video in third place (20,400 assets). more “Decipher’s VOD Audit Q3 2013: YouView now provide more catch-up TV than Sky” …

UK Set Top Boxes Pass 50% Connected In Next Two Years.

November 1, 2013

Over 50% of UK households will have a connected STB by end of 2015 which is double the figure for last year. This will move TV on-demand mainstream. It will also move consumers’ default usage back to the digital TV platforms and dampen the growth of OTT providers (Netflix and Lovefilm) and standalone online players (iPlayer, ITV on demand and 4OD).

Set-top boxes in the UK are getting more connected. This means that more of them have access to broadband through either a cable into the back of them or, more likely, a wifi connection. The trend is prevalent at the moment driven by Sky who are currently connecting 50k HD boxes per week[1] and will continue to for the next few years. Added acceleration to connectivity will come from YouView growth through BT and TalkTalk and also the connected version of Freesat (called <freetime>) which are both making the traditionally ‘free TV’ base more able to easily connect to broadband. more “UK Set Top Boxes Pass 50% Connected In Next Two Years.” …

Are VOD deals worth the effort?

June 2, 2011

Nigel Walley – June 2011

We”ve been having a look at Virgin Tivo and having a think about what it means about the future of the TV landscape. Its begun to dawn on us that the implications could be quite significant. Particularly as the pay platforms and the free-to-air broadcasters are finding it so hard to come to some sensible agreement about incorporating their catch-up services into the next generation pay TV services. What Tivo and SkyAnytime+ show is that it might be easier if the platforms just ignored the broadcasters and used their PVRs to build their own versions of iPlayer and the other catch-up services.

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Why do I still watch broadcast TV?

June 15, 2009

Adrian Stroud – June 2009

I recently challenged myself to work-out why I still watch so much ‘live’ TV. I don’t mean news or sport because I can rationalise those genres quite easily. I mean bread and butter programming.
The challenge came about because I was debating just how much more damage all the VOD services and PVRs will do to live TV viewing figures in the long-run. This is important because it is those live viewing figures that contribute the vast bulk of advertising impacts. VOD currently delivers far, fewer impacts per hour of viewing than live TV, so the ‘end game’ for advertising funded TV programming is defined by this question. My guess was that live TV won’t drop more than perhaps 25%, no matter how many VOD and time shifting gadgets like Sky+ launch, but I could not say why. I suspect I’m making the mistake of confusing the technology with the benefits.
VOD and the PVR are the rational way to consume all but the livest of live TV events. So, when VOD has all the content you want and it is available on every screen in the house, why would you want to watch ordinary old broadcast TV at all?

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TV iPlayer Looks Like A Duck But Quacks Like A Cuckoo

March 3, 2009

Nigel Walley – March 2009

There is a rule in life that if something walks like a duck and talks like a duck it must be a duck. It is a good rule, but we have been struggling this week with a slight variation to it. How about if someone really big and important repeatedly tells you something is a duck, and has gone to the trouble of painting the thing to look like a duck, but every time you look at it, it still doesn’t walk or talk like a duck?

The duck in question is the TV version of iPlayer that is available on Virgin cable. The BBC and Virgin have made a great fuss over the fact that ‘iPlayer is now available on Virgin’. But however much we have tried, we can’t make it quack or waddle.

more “TV iPlayer Looks Like A Duck But Quacks Like A Cuckoo” …