Smartphones threaten TV advertising
Hollywood is afraid of online video streaming, but a recent study suggests their biggest threat is the smartphone. IPG Media Lab and YuMe looked at people's behaviors when they watched TV. They discovered participants had the TV on, but were not always actively engaged. About 94% of the study's 48 participants were distracted during the 30 minutes of watching. The smartphone was the biggest culprit and accounted for 60% of these distractions.
The researchers also compared DVRs with the smartphone and found that turning your head to look at your phone had a greater impact than fast forwarding through a commercial. This isn't rocket science. When you glance away, you miss the commercials on TV. When you zoom through the commercial, you get glimpses of the ad which still leaves an impression.
My own usage mirrors this study. When my phone chimes at a new tweet or an incoming email, I quickly turn away from the TV and see what just came in. TV advertisers have an uphill battle as this practice of checking my phone is so ingrained that it's almost automatic. The only way to stop it would be to devise a method to detect when the TV is on and disable my phone.
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Hollywood is afraid of online video streaming, but a recent study suggests their biggest threat is the smartphone. IPG Media Lab and...
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I can see a time when your phone is listening to whats on tv, and the audio footprint of what's on screen at any given time will alert your phone to display a relevant notification. the technology is already there.
May 28 2011 at 10:38 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyAwesome !
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My refrigerator threatens TV advertising. My MacBook Pro threatens TV advertising. My toilet threatens TV advertising.
TV advertising is heavily threatened.
And before iPhone there was DVR FF...and before DVR there was the remote controls ability to change the channel and before that there was the knob on the set and before that there was GETTING A LIFE!
I really hate how "hollywood" is always scared of EVERYTHING that could potentially interfiere with their prescribed method of making profit! Get with the times! They always try to enact laws preventing people from advancing when the people aren't interested! Commercials are a waste of money and time! You already advertise during shows and movies!! Stop being so damned greedy!
That's way to complicated for advertising and marketing folks to comprehend ... they still have their head in the sand about the impact of DVR's! I haven't watched 'live' tv for years ... everything recorded precisely to skip commercials!
May 27 2011 at 11:55 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI'd think DVR's were the ones hurting TV commercials. I'll start watching a show 20 minutes after it starts just so I can fast forward through them.
May 27 2011 at 10:57 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyPeople still watch TV with commercials? I barely even use Hulu anymore, it's all Netflix for me.
Though I guess if you're watching a sporting event, but that's really the only justification for appointment-based viewing anymore.
It's the 21st Century. Clinging to last-century viewing habits is a sure way to go extinct quickly.
I do the exact same thing. I've cut my Hulu Plus and I do Netflix streaming as well as through the mail to get the movies I can't get on streaming.
May 27 2011 at 11:00 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply"The only way to stop it would be to devise a method to detect when the TV is on and disable my phone."
I was looking for some hint of sarcasm there, but I just can't find it.
No sarcasm. Call me pessimistic but I bet advertisers would love to have your phone detect ambient background noise and disable itself automatically when the TV is on. Maybe they give you the phone for free or offer some other incentives to get you to participate.
May 27 2011 at 10:44 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyKelly, you have to be kidding.
Do you honestly think that's likely to happen?
The phone manufacturers are never going to allow some third party device (tv, car, etc) to disable the phone. Firstly, it would piss a lot of people off. Secondly, this leads to the potential of a safety issue... suppose you're watching tv and your kid is trying to call you because he needs a ride home, but your phone is disabled because of commercials. Just imagine the lawsuits.
Since this is an apple related blog, let's consider the iphone. Do you really think Apple, famous for controlling EVERY aspect of your device experience, is going to let some third party device arbitrarily disable functionality? Yeah, I don't think so either.
Why do you think they raise the volume for adverts? They do it so you can at least hear the commercials when you hop into the loo or the kitchen to grab a nosh.
May 27 2011 at 10:18 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replyhehe I watch YouTube videos on my Apple TV while they show commercials... I won't even hear whatever they're saying!
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