London, UK – June 10, 2013

Live TV continues to drive the video consumption market in the UK despite the availability of video-on-demand (VOD) services, according to new research from QuickPlay Media. Regardless of device used for viewing, more than four in ten (42%) consumers still only watch live content compared to only 28% and 29% of those questioned in Canada and the United States (US) respectively.

In a 2012 survey of UK mobile subscribers, half of respondents selected live TV as their viewing preference over VOD and this trend for live video content on the second screen has only been amplified over the last twelve months. Three quarters of respondents in 2013 only watch live TV on a smartphone compared to those in the US where 46% watch more VOD than live TV. A similar skew is also visible when looking at video consumption across tablet devices with 59% of UK consumers watching more live content than VOD compared to only 44% and 27% of US and Canadian respondents respectively.

These results are only logical when the preferences for video content consumption are taken into account. Over four in five consumers who watch sporting events and news prefer to watch these types of content live across all three regions while in contrast, the largest preference for VOD is for movie consumption with less than half of consumers in the UK (40%) and US (49%) ranking this as a key preference. And this is all despite the fact that the VOD services currently available are rated as easy to use by 94% of UK respondents while boasting a better content selection than live services (78% vs. 59%) as well as being more convenient (96% vs. 79%).

Nikki Gore, VP Marketing, QuickPlay Media, said, “Mobile viewing figures around the 2012 Olympic Games suggested that live TV was going to become an increasingly important differentiator for successful multiscreen services and these results highlight just that. Consumers want and expect to be able to view video content in real time, wherever they are, and whatever device they choose to watch it from.

“To ensure their long term success, service providers must factor in both the right content and also the right systems to offer live content to customers without compromising on quality of experience. After all, 67% of UK consumers would use their devices more if quality of programming was improved and network connection was faster (58%). If these criteria are addressed, video services will become increasingly sticky across the customer base, reducing churn and paving the way for service expansion in months and years to come.”

For full details on the survey results, please visit www.quickplay.com/2013-survey.

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

From May 14th to May 17th, 2013, an online survey was conducted among 631 American, 619 Canadian, and 612 UK randomly selected adults aged 18-60 years old who watch live TV or video on demand using one or more of the following electronic devices: a smart TV/connected TV, a desktop computer, a laptop computer/netbook, a tablet computer, a smartphone, a subscription-based set top box, a games console, or a streaming media device. American respondents are panelists on Springboard America, Canadian respondents are panelists on the Angus Reid Forum, and UK respondents are panelists on Springboard UK. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.9%, 19 times out of 20 within each country. The results have been statistically weighted according to age, gender and region to ensure a representative sample within each country. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

About QuickPlay Media

QuickPlay Media is the leading provider of managed service solutions for the distribution of premium video to IP-connected devices. Successfully used by the world’s largest communications and media companies, QuickPlay’s cloud-based OpenVideo platform provides the most scalable and secure way for companies to deliver engaging multiscreen entertainment experiences. For more information, please follow QuickPlay Media on Twitter at @quickplaymedia. Interested parties can also follow QuickPlay on Facebook at www.facebook.com/quickplaymedia.

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Toronto – June 10, 2013

QuickPlay Media today revealed the results of a survey focused on mobile TV and video viewing habits as well as ad tolerance in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The survey results reveal insights about ad tolerance across streaming devices, the popularity of Live TV versus video on demand (VOD) and the factors that motivate users to pay for premium services.

U.S. Consumers are More Tolerant of Streaming Video Ads

40 percent or more of consumers across all three countries reported that they don’t pay attention to ads while watching content on their devices or don’t find ads irritable. Viewers in the U.S. (62 percent) however, are less likely to get irritated when it comes to seeing the video ads on their devices compared to Canada (40 percent) and the U.K. (49 percent). 20 percent or more of consumers across all three countries, are willing to pay $5-$7 per month for advertising-free access to streaming premium video content (TV shows, movies, events, etc.).

Consumers across all three geographies still feel that most mobile ads are highly irrelevant and not specific to their interests. U.S. consumers felt that only 29 percent of the ads they viewed were somewhat relevant to them, while U.K. and Canadian consumers said only 25 percent and 12 percent, respectively, were relevant.

In addition, about a quarter of smartphone and tablet users are more likely to react to a video ad on a smartphone or tablet than on television with this share being slightly higher in the U.S. (30 percent) compared to the U.K. (25 percent) and Canada (24 percent).

VOD Wins Tablet Viewers in North America, But Tablet and Smartphone Viewers Prefer Live TV Overseas

Roughly equal number of North Americans reported using smartphones to watch VOD and live TV (21 and 22 percent respectively in the U.S., and 11 and 10 percent in Canada). In the U.K., however, only 9 percent of consumers reported watching VOD on their smartphones, while 20 percent reported watching live TV.

The story on tablets is different, with more North American consumers watching VOD (23 percent in the U.S. and 21 percent in Canada) compared to live TV (18 percent in the U.S. and 11 percent in Canada). Among U.K. tablet viewers approximately equal audiences watch live TV and VOD (18 percent and 15 percent, respectively).

In terms of content, about 85 percent of viewers in North America use VOD to watch TV shows and the same percentage watch movies on VOD, while U.K. viewers prefer TV shows for VOD (91 percent), versus movies (60 percent) on their devices.

Sporting events and news are the two content types that viewers prefer to watch live across all three countries. More than 80% of consumers prefer to watch these types of programs live. Among these respondents, over 40% in the UK and US watch sporting events live on second screens (desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones). This share was slightly lower in Canada, at just over 30%.

Consumers are Willing to Pay for Better Quality and Content

Premium video content – selection of more TV channels, theatrical releases and free advertising – is a driving factor motivating increased device usage, with 50 percent of consumers or more in each country citing a willingness to pay for each of these features.

When asked about which features would increase device usage, at least two-thirds of respondents across all three countries indicated reduced costs, better programming quality and increased content choice.

“As more options for watching premium video content emerge for consumers, their particular preferences when it comes to multiscreen video viewing are also coming into focus,” said Wayne Purboo, president and CEO, QuickPlay Media. “Consumers are looking for more content, Based on these results, consumer sentiments are coming through loud and clear: more and better selection of content delivered with minimal disruption. Service providers must factor in not only the right content but also ensure they have the right service platform to deliver HD quality multiscreen packages without compromising on quality of experience.”

For full details on the survey results, please visit www.quickplay.com/2013-survey.

Notes to editors:

From May 14th to May 17th, 2013, an online survey was conducted among 631 American, 619 Canadian, and 612 UK randomly selected adults aged 18-60 years old who watch live TV or video on demand using one or more of the following electronic devices: a smart TV/connected TV, a desktop computer, a laptop computer/netbook, a tablet computer, a smartphone, a subscription-based set top box, a games console, or a streaming media device. American respondents are panelists on Springboard America, Canadian respondents are panelists on the Angus Reid Forum, and UK respondents are panelists on Springboard UK. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.9%, 19 times out of 20 within each country. The results have been statistically weighted according to age, gender and region to ensure a representative sample within each country. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

About QuickPlay Media

QuickPlay Media is the leading provider of managed service solutions for the distribution of premium video to IP-connected devices. Successfully used by the world’s largest communications and media companies, QuickPlay’s cloud-based OpenVideo platform provides the most scalable and secure way for companies to deliver engaging multiscreen entertainment experiences. For more information, please follow QuickPlay Media on Twitter at @quickplaymedia. Interested parties can also follow QuickPlay on Facebook at www.facebook.com/quickplaymedia.

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The 2013 report conducted by Vision Critical for QuickPlay Media surveyed 1,862 respondents across Canada, US and the UK, delivers insights on these questions:

The post 2013 Consumer Survey Report appeared first on QuickPlay Media.

It was a series for the ages.  Most (including a good chunk of fans) expected a quick sweep by the Bruins.  The Leafs surprised everyone by outplaying Boston for most of the series culminating in a game 7 that can only be described as a choke of epic proportions.

We fans were not just glued to our televisions (or pub televisions).  We were also watching the games on our devices, once again proving live sports are a driver for consumption (we published research last year to this exact point).

How consumed where Leafs fans in round one? Some quick stats:

• Total average multiscreen consumption increased by 132% on game days as compared to off days
• Consumption increased as the series progressed with a 56% increase from Game 1 to Game 4, and an additional 41% between Game 4 and Game 7.  The overall increase between Game 1 and Game 7 was an astounding 120%
• More people turned to other devices as well.  Over the course of the series, the number of unique users grew by 11%. In addition to unique views, average views per user increased by 50%.

When the results of QuickPlay’s 2012 survey were released, more than half of mobile video users indicated that they watched at least one sporting event on either a smartphone or tablet and more than half also selected Live TV (encompassing live programmes, sports and events) as the most frequently watched type of mobile video content.

While the Leafs’ season is over, die hard fans will hold out hope for a better playoff run next year – on any screen, anytime, anywhere.

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Just a few short years ago, ‘anytime, anywhere’ was somewhat of an ideal vision, but, TV Everywhere has quickly grown from a concept to a consumer expectation in today’s multiscreen world.

Not only are the number of screens changing and innovating, the type of content being delivered is evolving. With thousands of VoD assets, online streaming services, live linear TV, and user generated content, consumers are being bombarded, making ease of discovery increasingly important.

In Nielsen’s recent cross-platform report, it was found that while the amount of viewing time has increased overall, a growing group – dubbed as ’Zero- TV” households – has grown over 2.5 times in the last two years. Other changing TV habits include:

• Nearly half of this group (48%) has switched in favor of subscription services such as Netflix or Hulu, citing cost and lack of interest as the main drivers for switching. 18% of this group would consider pay television services in the future.
• While 75% of Zero-TV households still own at least one TV, it is only used to watch DVDs, play games, or browse the Internet.
• When viewing video content, more than two-thirds of Zero-TV households use non-traditional devices, such as computers, the Internet via TV, smartphones, and tablets.

While ‘Zero-TV’ households represent a smaller portion of the population, the behaviors exhibited by this group offer some great insight.

From Push to Pull

Control of the viewing experience is in the hands of the consumer. With so much choice, viewers want a personalized experience. It is no longer about pushing content out; in fact, it is about pulling viewers in. A recent Accenture report found that 64% of respondents prefer using genres as search criteria to find new video content with 43% of the group prefers finding new content by using personalized recommendations from suggestions based on past viewing preferences. Moreover, over half the participants indicated interest in recommending video to others.

Viewers crave the ability to discover content organically; personalized recommendations, social recommendations and rich, integrated viewing experiences drive them to consume more.

The Opportunity for Multiscreen Video Providers

While video consumption is highly fragmented and maintaining viewer engagement poses some challenges, service and video content providers have the opportunity to really drive interaction in new ways.

The key is to help viewers navigate choice via content-based discovery. In other words, driving custom recommendations based on past viewing habits, social interaction and new content forms – all while delivering an engaging, seamless experience.

A recent study released by Gartner suggests that multiscreen video industry players need to create holistic experiences that drive engagement across companion screens; combining the use of social networks to engage in real time discussion, delivering bonus programming and making use of incentive programs and gamification methods.

Regardless of how service and content providers choose to proceed, it is increasingly clear that service and content providers must now vie with a host of new online services, niche apps and “second screen” activities for viewing time. Driving custom content in a way that makes most sense for the consumer will be the key to driving loyalty and engagement.

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In between taking the opportunity to showcase our multiscreen video solutions, we eagerly took to the floor to scour exhibits and panels for the latest trends and innovations.  Here are a few highlights that are worth noting:

HEVC Encoding – All the Quality, Half the Bandwidth of H.264

Many companies had demos of HEVC (high efficiency video coding) encoding at NAB. The prototype hardware and software solutions I found interesting were from Elemental Technologies, Fraunhofer Institute, and Motorola. Motorola had an interesting real-time demo, an HEVC encoder delivering streaming content to a Google Nexus 10 tablet for real-time decoding and playback.

HEVC is a successor of today’s very popular H.264 format. HEVC delivers a picture of the same perceived visual quality as H.264, but using only half the bandwidth. HEVC is going to alleviate the bandwidth pressure of delivering HD multiscreen video services. Some observers, like Dan Rayburn, streaming and online video expert, think video service providers are looking to launch HEVC based OTT multiscreen video services in the 2014 time frame.

There is also discussion in the hardware and software encoding community about HEVC enabling 4K multiscreen services. While theoretically this is possible, I think we are few years from seeing 4K coming to multiscreen OTT.

4K Resolution-UltraHD means the challenge of handling large data volumes

Much like CES this year, 4K resolution was plastered all over NAB. This strikes me as reminiscent of the splash 3D made at these shows a few years ago. So, perhaps we can take this one with a pinch of salt given the current state of 3D.

The most impressive demo was Sony’s 4K resolution. It had a 56” OLED screen on display, showing beautiful images from Rio Carnival. While North American broadcasters are looking to jump to 4K next, Japanese providers like NHK are going directly to 8K.

Today digital film dailies at 2K generate around 2.5TB of information per day in post production. By contrast a show in 8K is expected to average 187TB per day of new data. The difficulty of handling the large data volumes will be a big challenge in implementing ultraHD formats.

Multiscreen Video Monetization

The ability to optimize multiscreen service content for effective monetization is becoming another key area of focus among service providers. Of course, this is dependent on consumption analytics/trends informing future content purchases, promotions, advertising, and even the timing for publishing VoD content.

QuickPlay’s noSQL based reporting system will be very instrumental in capturing consumption behaviors of end-users. Moreover, our experience running multiscreen video services with different monetization models has given us deep insights about the optimal path to take for monetizing multiscreen video services.

Multiscreen Video needs Live TV

At NAB, a number of vendors in the multiscreen video space made passing references to live TV, but the focus for majority of the service providers are still on VoD. At QuickPlay, we recognize live video is the big missing piece of multiscreen video. We have invested in the future of live TV and have built our Multiscreen Video Control Center, a state-of-the-art live TV facility with satellite ingestion farm and dedicated data center.

QuickPlay showcased our end-to-end live TV capabilities and demonstrated live multiscreen TV services we power for our customers, TVB, Rogers and Bell. One of the big attractions at the QuickPlay booth was the nPVR functionality that turns live to VoD for catch-up TV.

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Toronto – April 8, 2013

QuickPlay Media, Inc., the leading provider of cloud-based managed service solutions for the distribution of premium media to IP-connected devices, today announced the expansion of its executive team, adding Charlotte Burke as senior vice president, North America and Jerry Miller as vice president of service operations.

Burke has more than 25 years experience building and operating high growth Internet, mobile and digital media businesses. In her role as senior vice president, North America at QuickPlay, Burke will be tasked with continuing to expand the fast-evolving business and customer base. Prior to joining QuickPlay, Burke served as a managing director with Accenture in the communications, media and technology group. Prior to Accenture, Burke spent more than a decade as a senior executive and officer with Bell Canada where she led three major technology transformations: the launch of digital cellular, the introduction of wireless data services and the rollout of broadband Internet and TV. She also led Bell’s Consumer Internet division for six years and previously served as vice president of Bell Mobility’s digital cellular business. Burke holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Acadia University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

As vice president of service operations, Miller will be overseeing and expanding QuickPlay Media’s managed service operations to continually improve service quality and scalability. He joins QuickPlay from CDNetworks, where he most recently served as vice president of operations and technology, leading the efforts to raise CDNetworks to a best-in-class cloud service provider, while greatly increasing gross margin and completing a service acquisition. Miller has 18 years of experience in and around digital video distribution systems and services with companies such as theCrowd (which he co-founded), Digital Fountain and Tandberg Television/SkyStream Networks. He holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Nuclear Engineering from Purdue University.

“We’re in a fast moving, fast execution business that’s being driven by increasing consumer demand for high quality multiscreen video experiences. As we extend our business to serve more customers in global markets, having experienced leaders with specialized skills will be crucial to fuelling our growth. ,” said Wayne Purboo, CEO and co-founder of QuickPlay Media. “Charlotte and Jerry bring a depth of knowledge and experience driving innovation and working with industry leaders, putting us at a definitive advantage as we continue to work with customers to develop and expand their multiscreen services.”

About QuickPlay Media

QuickPlay Media is the leading provider of managed service solutions for the distribution of premium video to IP-connected devices. Successfully used by the world’s largest communications and media companies, QuickPlay’s cloud-based OpenVideo platform provides the most scalable and secure way for companies to deliver engaging multiscreen entertainment experiences. For more information, please follow QuickPlay Media on Twitter at @quickplaymedia or visit us on the web at www.quickplay.com.

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Relevant Multiscreen Video Trends:

A number of key trends point to live linear TV as a natural next step in the evolution of multiscreen video.

If we look at current viewing habits, Nielsen reports the average consumer spends 4.5 hours a day consuming live programming. Time spent on DVD/DVR playback and gaming constitutes a mere 30 minutes per day.

According to a study conducted by Flurry analytics, mobile app usage has grown 30% over a two-year time frame and in the same period, mobile subscribers consuming video on their devices has undergone a YOY difference of 22.5%.

Growing video consumption across mobile devices coupled with the high demand for Live TV is a clear and present opportunity for service providers.

In a UK survey conducted in 2012, 51% of mobile TV users reported that they want live video (linear /special events) on mobile phones. This fact was further reiterated during the Olympics when the BBC was hit with 12 million mobile view requests. In the same survey, 84% of consumers who engaged in mobile video consumption reported sustained increase in viewing post event.

Interestingly enough, if we delve further, we see that *63% of mobile consumption happens in the home, peaking at prime time hours, and an average mobile user owns 3 IP connected devices.

Given the nature of consumption service providers need to create complementary content experiences that work hand-in-hand, and across multiple devices; one that delivers live TV, in addition to VoD content.

Today’s Multiscreen Video Experience Is Not Seamless Enough:

The idea of live linear TV is not a novel one. Many content providers are beginning to take steps to deliver such services, but not without their own share of challenges. Considerations regarding scalability, cost effectiveness and ROI are all crucial points.

The challenge for multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) is managing the complexities associated with an increasingly diverse ecosystem. Delivering media across a fragmented device market while maintaining a seamless TV everywhere experience is challenging.

At the very core, multiscreen video infrastructure must support multiple file formats, delivery standards (i.e. DASH, H.265, ABR, HLS) and operating systems, not to mention applying a maze of content rights and regulatory requirements to content access. Doing so requires substantial capital investment, as well as operational management for a market that is still developing.

As the market rapidly evolves, MVPDs have begun to pick up experienced partners as an alternative approach to building the service delivery infrastructure on their own.  Managed services for multiscreen video offer the ability to deliver the best of breed capabilities for multiscreen video and management, with the biggest advantages being time to market, scalability, minimal change to IT infrastructure and subsequently lower capital investment.

Seizing the Live Linear TV Opportunity

Live linear programming is a component that is largely absent from multiscreen services today. While the opportunity is clear, there are a number of regulatory and technical challenges that providers must navigate through in order to deliver a truly seamless experience.

Next generation multiscreen video should be an experience that delivers an integrated VoD and live video content experience, across multiple devices in and outside the home, with improved discovery and billing for the customer.

If one thing is clear – it is that Live TV offers huge potential for next generation multiscreen video. Content providers will now need to determine how to navigate through various complexities to deliver a truly successful service, at a time where the market is rapidly evolving. However, if done successfully, MVPD’s will capitalize upon a considerable opportunity to differentiate their service portfolio, keep pace with the market and capture growing consumer demand.

*Sources: Source: IAB, 2012; Juniper Networks 2012

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