Consumers Like Video Content from New Sources but Few Are Ready to “Cut the Pay-TV Cord,” According to Survey | Press Release | ABI Research

A recent ABI Research consumer survey of 1005 consumers revealed that about 32 percent of those surveyed are interested in watching Internet video on their TV, nearly double the number who expressed the same interest in a similar 2008 survey.

In 2008 only 13 percent said they would consider cancelling their pay-TV services and receiving video content just from the Internet, rentals or off-air broadcast television.

According to ABI Research practice director Jason Blackwell, “The alternatives to pay-TV — online services from Netflix, Hulu and the like — are decentralized and can be complicated to negotiate.”

Of course, the question might not suggest as much current interest as might seem to be the case. If you ask people whether they'd like something, in the abstract, without including price and content availability, they might say "yes" because there is no cost to the answer.

If you ask whether a user would spend $200, be able to access YouTube video, movie trailers and some content, you'd get fewer people reaching for their wallets. If you then asked whether access to popular content, time shifted a bit, would be available for additional payments ranging from about a dollar to $3, you'd get fewer hands reaching for wallets.

The survey results are not surprising. They just don't predict actual behavior very well.

Consumers Like Video Content from New Sources but Few Are Ready to “Cut the Pay-TV Cord,” According to Survey