Digital TV News

Digital channels leave UK viewers ‘spoilt for choice’

Thursday 17 November, 2011

By Anthony Hill

Telly fans are flustered with ‘too many’ things to watch.

We now have such a variety of TV channels that we often struggle to find programmes we want to watch. These are the findings of a new survey by Red Bee Media.

According to the research, three-quarters of Brits have been so bewildered by the array of digital and satellite channels that they’ve actually missed shows they would like to have seen.

More than 70% of the UK telly fans surveyed said the freedom to choose what they watch, when they want to watch it would help them get more out of the TV experience.

Bill Patrizio, chief executive of Red Bee Media, said: “Viewers are increasingly savvy about what they watch, and how and when they watch it.

“They are ever more cynical about current offers when their preference is for a more immediate, selective and flexible experience.”

People in Britain increasingly want more from on-demand services, the media management firm discovered. Almost half of us want access to archived episodes of our favourite programmes and 33% want the whole TV schedule available on catch-up.

It also found that pay-TV providers like Virgin Media and Sky could face significant competition from flexible online packages in the future.

Nearly a third of digital and satellite subscribers said they would consider switching to internet-connected TV if they could choose to receive only their favourite channels, without having to pay for others they never watch.

Recent research by ISPreview.co.uk found that Britain’s digital TV viewers have a growing appetite for internet-based TV services - such as BT Vision - with over half of us now eager to get out hands on web-enabled telly.