Key Consumers Will Sacrifice Convenience & Cash For Ability To Skip TV Commercials.

New research from Knowledge Networks/SRI shows that early adopters of home media technologies are willing to pay a significant price — in dollars and convenience — for the capability to bypass commercials in television programming; but many may not be willing to offer up information on their viewing habits as part of the bargain.

The findings come from two recently released reports — All Things Digital and How People Use® Interactive TV — published as part of The Home Technology Monitor™, a service tracking consumers’ ownership and use of media technologies. The data show that awareness of digital video recorders (such as TiVo®) — which enable ad skipping at the push of a button — has risen from 56% in 2002 to 72% among early adopters.

Though 63% of these high-tech consumers say that watching commercials is a fair price to pay for TV programming, an even higher proportion (72%) do not think that DVR ad-skipping capabilities should be restricted or eliminated. This sentiment was stronger among younger respondents (86% of those ages 18 to 34) than older ones (66% of those 50 or older).

Early adopters also said — by a three to one margin (74% versus 22%) — that the ability to skip commercials is more important to them than being able to watch programs “on demand” (at the time most convenient to them).

About 5% of early adopters have a DVR, and 14% of non-owners say they would be “very interested” in paying $10 extra per month for a set-top box with a DVR built in.

Newer DVRs and digital set-top boxes have the capacity to capture users’ viewing, pause, and replay data — information that can be collected by the service provider. Knowledge Networks research shows that 57% of those with advanced TV services agree with the statement, “No one should be able to find out any information about what I watch.” Among these privacy-minded consumers, only 23% said they would be more likely to share their viewing information if they were offered incentives (such as discounts on their TV service).

For more information at http://knowledgenetworks.com