CEA: Digital Content Supplements, Not Replaces TV Programming

ARLINGTON: The latest study from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) finds that while the vast majority (79 percent) of online U.S. adults obtain the video content they watch from traditional TV programming providers such as cable, satellite or fiber-to-the-home, a significant number of viewers are turning to digital sources as well.

In addition to traditional television programming, DVD/Blu-ray discs (66 percent), free video streaming services (47 percent) and paid video streaming services (37 percent) are also common sources of video content. “Access to faster Internet speeds and dramatic advances in mobile technology have changed the face of video content delivery and consumption,” said Kevin Tillmann, senior analyst at CEA. “However, digital content is not necessarily a substitute for traditional content sources, but instead an additional source from which U.S. consumers can quench their insatiable thirst for video content.”

More than half (53 percent) of consumers say they skip commercials, yet they site traditional TV programming as being critical to the discovery of new video content, for both movies and TV shows. The sources consumers use most frequently to discover new movies are channel surfing (44 percent), on-screen program guides (44 percent), previews at the movie theater (39 percent), commercials on TV (39 percent) and word of mouth (37 percent). The leading ways consumers discover TV shows are channel surfing (50 percent), on-screen program guides (47 percent), TV commercials (47 percent), word of mouth (34 percent) and network websites such as NBC or CBS (27 percent).