An industry-sponsored survey released Tuesday claims that consumers are “keenly interested” in
interactive television (i-TV) and are willing to spend money to get it.
Significantly for application and content vendors, the study found that news was the most
popular application, and using i-TV to augment the television experience also ranked highly.
The most popular i-TV application, preferred by slightly more than more than half the
participants, was gathering information such as news, weather and sports. About 44 percent
preferred interactive TV guides and 38 percent liked i-TV for behind-the-scenes information on
TV programs. About 37 percent wanted to use i-TV for e-mail.
Study participants were exposed to interactive TV in three ways. First, they were exposed to a
“two-screen scenario,” in which synchronized Internet content for a TV program was delivered
to a near-by PC. They also were exposed to an “on-screen” scenario, in which information was
added to the regular TV picture. Finally, participants could use a handheld to download content
to handheld computers.
The handheld access proved popular, with about 64 percent of the participants who currently
have analog cable service saying they would consider upgrading. About 47 percent of cable customers said that they
would switch to digital service that provided single-screen interactive TV capabilities.
“The study’s findings tell us that consumers are keenly interested in getting interactive TV services,” said David
Beddow, CEO of Liberty Livewire and spokesperson for the research sponsors. “Even with the nascent state of the
technology and content, cable and satellite operators have a captivated, if not captive, audience eager to use
interactive services now.”
Besides Beddow’s company, the study was sponsored by i-TV technology vendors ACTV, Motorola, OpenTV and
Universal Electronics. The vendors develop technology for all three scenarios covered in the study.
The study was conducted by Boyd Consulting and involved more than 500 consumers. The study was conducted in
November and December of 2000.
