Only a short time ago, consumers had limited choices for accessing professional video content.
Today, a smorgasbord of options continues to multiply—from premium cable and DVDs, to online choices such as Apple, Netflix, and Hulu. Hardware options are equally dizzying, as traditional TV gives way to PCs, smartphones, and tablets. As portable devices meet the cloud, more consumers expect to view their favorite content anywhere, anytime.
The London Olympics this year were a case in point. NBC statistics reveal that more than 57 million U.S. viewers streamed Olympic events online. And over 7 million unique visitors per day accessed the BBC’s online Olympic sites, with nearly half of them watching on mobile devices.
Clearly, media consumption has evolved. Given the complexity of choices, it is essential for all players in the video value chain to understand what consumers need and want. To gain greater insight, the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) studied the trends and behaviors of 1,152 video consumers in the United States in 2012.
Chief among our findings? Streaming is going mainstream—and if the quality, variety, and delivery of streaming video are held to a high standard, consumers will be willing to pay
for it.
Streaming Is Going Mainstream
Seventy percent of U.S. broadband users are watching professionally produced Internet video every week, with an average viewing time of more than 100 minutes per week. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, viewership rises to 94 percent. Overall, streaming video is ahead of downloading and about even with DVDs and Blu-ray Discs (see Figure 1). Read More »
Pop quiz: How many screens does it take to watch television programming? For a growing number of people, the answer is two — a TV, plus a media tablet or mobile smartphone. That may seem counterintuitive, but for many of us (present company included) a mobile “companion” device has become an essential part of the living room TV experience.
According to a Nielsen survey of 12,000 connected device owners, 70 percent of tablet owners and 68 percent of smartphone owners use their devices while watching TV. Tablet owners in particular seem unable to put down the iPad while flipping channels, with respondents saying that nearly a third of the time they spend using their device is in front of the TV.
Last week, Cisco solutions made a big splash across two of television’s hottest shows!
On Tuesday, May 3rd, the main characters on the hit CBS show, NCIS: LA, used the Cisco Cius tablet to help catch the bad guy and solve the case! Using the Cius across multiple scenes, main show characters Sam, Callen, Eric, and Nell use the device for a live video session while docked to analyze clues in the lab, then go mobile with the Cius to continue the video conversation and deliver proof of the crime. If you missed last night’s heart pounding episode, check out a short clip to see the Cius in action: http://videolounge.cisco.com/video/04853b-cius-helps-solve-ncis-la-case/.
This Mother’s Day, May 8th, viewers were be able to see how ūmi, Cisco’s Home TelePresence solution, is allowing people to be together from anywhere. We’re excited to announce that Cisco was a proud participant in Sunday’s episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on ABC. We teamed up with ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to help the Prewitt-Brewer family stay connected with their relatives across the country. Click here to watch a clip from Sunday’s amazing episode: http://home.cisco.com/en-us/telepresence/umi/emhe
Showcasing Cisco products in television and film is an exciting way to demonstrate the powerful impact Cisco solutions can make on business and in the home. Whether you are fighting crime or connecting with your long-distance family on our ever-growing Human Network, Cisco is truly changing the way people work, live, play and learn.
Check out the videos, share your thoughts and let us know what you think!
The ultimate cultural vision of video streaming was laid out in an iconic Qwest TV commercial from 1999. In it, a man wanders into a dusty, remote motel asking about room amenities. It’s not promising. The bored young lady behind the desk recites in an apathetic tone that the beds are all king-size, and the only breakfast offered is donuts and coffee.
But when the man asks about entertainment, that’s a little different. In the same monotone, the girl answers, “All rooms have every movie ever made in every language any time day or night.” It’s taken a while — probably longer than the technoptomists among us expected — but we’re getting closer to that vision.
For one thing, according to a survey recently conducted by Goldman Sachs and reported by HedgeFundLive, 27 percent of Americans now stream TV shows and movies, up from 16 percent in 2010.
A few weeks ago, at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, we introduced Videoscape – our vision and product portfolio for re-inventing television in a way that bridges broadcast, Pay TV, online, on-demand, social media, and communications.
What does that really mean? Check out this series of four shorts , created to add depth and context to the notion of television, re-invented. It’s all about what Videoscape can do for service providers, to dramatically improve how people consume television.
By Jason Kohn, Contributing Columnist
By Howard Baldwin, Contributing Columnist
