Price sensitive delivery and user-control key to European Pay-TV market, according to Motorola study

June 21, 2007 - An independent study recently commissioned by Motorola’s Home and Network Mobility Division has found that 47% of European Pay-TV subscribers believe they pay too much for their service.

The study examined 2,500 broadband users in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.  84% of respondents cited cost as the most important factor in choosing a TV service, although the study also found an increasing demand for elements of user-control, such as on-demand services.  European respondents pay an average of €32.64 per month for their Pay-TV services.  After cost, the most important considerations for choosing a service were found to be the genre of channels offered (81%) and simplicity & ease of use (78%).  The number of channels available (73%) and desire to receive the top-of-the-range service (49%) were found to be of lesser importance.

Ed Zander, Chairman and CEO of Motorola, commented in his keynote speech at the NXTComm event this week that: “From our European survey, on-demand services fill two of the top three most important subscriber considerations when selecting a new service.”  This is attributed in part to the lifestyle of European consumers, who want to maximise the viewing time they have available and take control of their viewing experience.

With regards to motivations for changing service providers, the study found that 78% of consumers would change provider if could receive the same TV programs for a cheaper price.  77% of consumers were found willing to change providers if they could receive free access to on-demand content, while 72% would change providers if they were given the ability to restart a program, due to missing the beginning, without pre-scheduling a recording.  Interestingly, the UK was found to demand advanced levels of interaction less readilty than the rest of Europe, although elements of control are still key factors for UK consumers.