Study: 75% of Consumers Haven't Heard of 'TV Everywhere'

16 Dec, 2015 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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New GfK report finds fewer than 16% of pay-TV subscribers use TV network’s app or website to access on-demand programming

When launched, TV Everywhere (TVE) was designed to offset subscription streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu by affording pay-TV subscribers on-demand access to programming on connected devices.

A new report from GfK found that 53% of viewers in pay-TV households have used TVE to watch shows on a computer, mobile device, or smart TV — up 10% since 2012. The same report also found that 75% of those households have never heard of TV Everywhere — underscoring the reality that the brand name is still struggling to build awareness.

That malaise in part is why pay-TV channels such as Showtime and HBO, in addition to multichannel video program distributors such as Dish Network, Time Warner Cable, Charter and Comcast, this year rolled out over-the-top video services, including so-called “skinny” channel bundles.

“Consumer education continues to be a critical missing piece of the puzzle for TV Everywhere,” David Tice, SVP in media and entertainment at GfK, said in a statement.

Indeed, monthly use of specific TVE platforms among users ages 13 to 64 remains small. Just 16% of subscribers use TV networks’ smart TV app and website; mobile app (14%) or mobile site (12%). Usage isn’t any better for TV service providers’ smart TV apps (15%), website (13%), mobile app (12%) and mobile site (11%).

“Greater success of TV Everywhere could help pay-TV services stave off becoming ‘dumb’ broadband pipes, and also assist TV networks in maintaining their status as the original aggregators of high quality video content,” Tice said.

That might be too late. Pay-TV operators reported significant gains in broadband subscriber growth, while at the same time nearly 360,000 video subs dropped service.

 

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