Skip to main content

Consumers Call VOD Option of Last Resort

MediaPost reports that for all the hype surrounding video-on-demand TV services, usage remains low, it's getting few new subscribers, and people who do sign up tend to view it as a "last resort for television." Those are the main conclusions of "Video on Demand: Attitudes and Opportunities," a new report from consumer researcher E-Poll. What's wrong? and what has to change for VOD to succeed?

Above all, consumers say VOD should be offered free, which may be good news for advertisers, indicating that advertising may be a more viable alternative to pay-per-view and subscription-baed pricing models.

"There are a couple forces that are driving advertising for VOD," advises Gerry Philpott, E-Poll's president and CEO. "For cable to be competitive [other TV service providers] they'll have to offer a fair amount of free programming on demand." Consumers appears to be even more amenable to receiving targeted advertising as part of free VOD deals.

Popular posts from this blog

The Smartphone Market's Premium Pivot

The global smartphone market closed 2025 with a story less about recovery and more about transformation. Premium product, ecosystem lock-in, and manufacturing scale are now the forces shaping competition. For business and technology leaders, the latest IDC market study data confirms that smartphones remain a critical indicator of consumer demand, supply chain health, and AI commercialization at the edge. Smartphone Market Development Global smartphone shipments grew 2.3 percent year-over-year in Q4 2025, reaching 336.3 million units and bringing full-year volumes to 1.26 billion units — a modest 1.9 percent annual increase, according to IDC. This smartphone growth emerged despite a memory shortage crisis, tariff volatility, supply chain disruption, and macroeconomic headwinds. What stabilized demand? Two factors: sustained growth in premium devices and strong foldable momentum, combined with accelerated purchases as consumers bought ahead of anticipated price increases. Buyers weren...