Skip to main content

Profiles of Five TV Viewing Preference Segments

In a bygone era, live TV programming was the top television content source. Now, the availability of digital video recorders (DVRs), Pay-TV on-demand services, and online streaming video options has changed the viewer's preferences.

According to the latest market study by TDG, a growing number of TV viewers fall into segments inclined to first select a source other than live broadcast TV. The impact on the traditional broadcast television ecosystem has been significant.

To better understand this shifting behavior, TDG developed a quantitative framework based on consumer First Glance TV preferences among different television content sources, including live broadcast, DVR-recorded, on-demand, and online shows -- as well as physical discs such as DVD or Blu-ray.

Based on this analysis, TDG identified five key segments -- non-overlapping groups that exhibit unique TV source preferences. The dominant characteristics of each segment are as follows:


Black-Box Baulkers - strongly prefer live broadcast and on-demand content, but shy away from adding new ā€˜black boxesā€™ to the TV system, especially devices they have to connect and configure. If a service is fully integrated into their one-device, on-remote experience (e.g., PayTV on-demand) they will bite. If not, forget about it.

TV Traditionalists - prefer live broadcast programs and physical discs, but are much less likely than average viewers to subscribe to or use PayTV on-demand or other value-added services, much less to view DVR-recorded or online TV content. They want ā€˜regularā€™ TV and little more.

DVR Devotees - all members of this segment own a DVR and exhibit a uniquely strong initial preference for DVR-recorded content. Despite this penchant for recorded material, however, this segment has very little interest in on-demand content, regardless of source. Interestingly, they are more likely than other segments to subscribe to satellite PayTV versus cable.

Broadcast Castoffs - prefer DVR-recorded and Internet video for ā€˜First Glanceā€™ TV viewing and have very little interest in live broadcast content. In fact, only 72 percent of this segment has access to live TV broadcasts on their TV. Similarly, they have absolutely no interest in PayTV on-demand services, be it free or transactional.

New Video Enthusiasts - the ā€˜Early Adoptersā€™ group in this segmentation, they prefer Internet video, PayTV on-demand, and DVR-recorded material, and are less likely to turn to live TV or physical discs (more traditional TV content sources).

Popular posts from this blog

AI-Driven Data Center Liquid Cooling Demand

The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) and hyperscale cloud computing is fundamentally reshaping data center infrastructure, and liquid cooling is emerging as an indispensable solution. As traditional air-cooled systems reach their physical limits, the IT industry is under pressure to adopt more efficient thermal management strategies to meet growing demands, while complying with stringent environmental regulations. Liquid Cooling Market Development The latest ABI Research analysis reveals momentum in liquid cooling adoption. Installations are forecast to quadruple between 2023 and 2030. The market will reach $3.7 billion in value by the decade's end, with a CAGR of 22 percent. The urgency behind these numbers becomes clear when examining energy metrics: liquid cooling systems demonstrate 40 percent greater energy efficiency when compared to conventional air-cooling architectures, while simultaneously enabling ~300-500 percent increases in computational density per rac...