Price Sensitive ‘Citizen Schedulers’ Key to European TV Market

* Europeans pay an average of €33 per month for TV services but almost half are dissatisfied with provision
* Motorola European TV study shows cost-effective delivery and increased user-control is key to customer retention
* UK trails rest of Europe in demand for increased aspects of consumer control


BASINGSTOKE, UK – 47% of European Pay-TV subscribers believe they pay too much for the service they receive, according to an independent study commissioned by Motorola’s Home and Network Mobility Division. Paying an average of €32.64 per month, 84% of European respondents cited cost as the most important consideration when selecting a TV service, though results show an increasing demand for TV service providers to offer elements of user-control, such as on-demand services.

The study examines 2500 broadband users in UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, and looks at consumer usage, opinion of services and purchase considerations. After cost, the most important considerations when selecting a TV service were the genre of channels offered (81%) and simplicity & ease of use (78%). The number of channels offered (73%) and receiving the top of the range service (49%) were of much lesser importance. Results illustrate the shift in purchase motivation, with consumers moving away from the broader, volume-focused service. Vendors have an opportunity to capitalise with a much more bespoke, user-delineated package where the emphasis is on personal preference.

When questioned on motivation for changing service providers, results showed:

* 78% of consumers would change service providers if they had the “ability to receive the same TV programs for a cheaper price”
* 77% of consumers would change service providers if they could receive “free access to films/TV programmes on demand”
* 72% would change providers if they had “the ability to restart a program if the beginning was missed, without needing to pre-schedule a recording”


In his keynote speech at NXTComm this week, Ed Zander, Chairman and CEO of Motorola noted, “From our European survey, on-demand services fill two of the top three most important subscriber considerations when selecting a new service. The ability to schedule your own viewing, to say “this is MY decision, on MY time”, is so compelling”

Time-poor European consumers want the ability to take increased control over their viewing experience, maximising what little time they have available. However, while elements of control are key motivators for UK consumers, more advanced levels of interaction were still demanded less readily than the rest of Europe[§]:

* The ability to “build my own channel on my TV showing just my favourite programs when I want to see them” (UK: 58 per cent agreed ; Euro avg. 66 per cent)
* “Increased viewer interaction to find out more information about what I’m watching, while I watch” (UK: 33 per cent agreed; Euro avg. 46 per cent)
* “Store all of my content/films/radio in one place so I can access it repeatedly when I want” (UK: 54 per cent agreed; Euro avg. 63 per cent)
* “Automatically get recommendations for channels/programs that I might like” (UK 34 per cent agreed; Euro avg. 43 per cent)


“European broadband users are still price sensitive, but our evidence shows how significant user-control and personal choice can be within a service provider’s offering,” said Karl Elliott, Marketing Director for EMEA within Motorola’s Home & Network Mobility division. “Time is a scarce commodity so consumer motivation is increasingly rooted in the ability to choose when and where viewers watch their programmes. If providers can embrace the demand for flexibility with a business model that justifies the cost of services with comprehensive, enabling technologies, they will maximise customer satisfaction and retention.”