By Tim Ferguson, 3 May 2007 15:38
NEWS
Nearly half of European consumers are now watching telly over the internet but the TV set is fighting back by being used for an increasing variety of activities.
In a study carried out for Motorola, 45 per cent of respondents said they watch TV programmes online, with France coming out top with 59 per cent.
The UK was third with 43 per cent, while Germany came bottom of the countries surveyed - with just 33 per cent of respondents saying they watch TV online.
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A spokesman for Motorola's Connected Home Solutions said the results show European consumers are no longer satisfied with fixed broadcast schedules - preferring the flexibility of online.
But the research also indicated the TV set is being used to access an increasing range of services, with an average of three devices being plugged into each set - including digital cameras.
The potential applications of the telly are also likely to increase in the near future according to the research. For example, 45 per cent of Europeans expect to be able to make video calls on their TV by 2012.
And there is demand for additional services, with 57 per cent of consumers saying they want the ability to go online via their TV during live broadcasts - to check sports stats during a match for example.
On-demand isn't limited to the internet either: 35 per cent of people indicated they want the ability to pause, fast forward and rewind programmes on their TV set as they are broadcast.
The independent research was carried out by StrategyOne, covering 2,500 broadband users in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
Comments
There are 3 comments. Join the discussion
1. Ian Manzie
So 6 out of 10 consumers in France and 4 out of 10 in the UK watch TV on the net. In reporting this story don't you reflect that this seems to be high. The sample chosen are all bband users so that eliminates those who dont have that. Also of more importance how much time are they spending in ratio to viewing via 'conventional means'.
2. Richard
Scrap the TV Licence:
This gives even more reasons to scrap our crazy, unfair UK TV licence - and all its inefficient, draconian, intrusive bureaucracy.
3. anonymous
Shockingly bad reporting, take a press release with outrageous claims and re arrange the content. Silicon.com does better than this kind of pathetic company promotion with hyped facts.
A survey of only 2500 users across the whole of Europe, suggesting a high proportion of Europe is watching TV online.
I suggest Silicon.com put a poll up asking who (bearing in mind the readers are generally more tech cutting edge than most) watches TV online, and who watches ALL their TV online.