KUALA LUMPUR, 30 JUNE 2009 -- Malaysians are quick to take up multiple viewing platforms, according to a consulting firm Accenture global Broadcast Consumer Survey 2009, which included more than 1,000 Malaysian respondents.
"In addition, this second annual global study, of more than 13,000 consumers across 13 countries (five in Asia and eight in Americas and Europe), shows that though TV consumption continues to grow, it has become more fragmented," said Accenture communications, high tech & media, Southeast Asia, managing director, Alwin K. Magimay.
"This study has our deepest insights to date into the way consumers' behaviour and preferences are continuing to change under the impact of more media options," said Magimay. "Today, content creators are considering the Internet, mobile channels as well as traditional broadcast delivery: consumers are demanding more choice and more control."
"The viewing of all content, including television, is growing, according to our study," he said. "Discovery mechanisms are still being relied on my consumers such as the newspaper, and mainstream media to discover content."
"Ten per cent of Malaysian homes are time-shifting 30 per cent of TV content," he said. "More than 100 million videos are downloaded per day globally."
Changing infrastructure
Access to the consumer is now more complex through the impact of Internet, which provides faster access to the audience, he said. Device manufacturers are trying to get into the content provision. Content owners and aggregators are also entering the field.
In the early days you had a variety of formats—cassette tape, CD/DVD—and devices— tape deck, phonograph, CD player. Now you have a many-to-many relationship as the changing reality of our digital world.
Winning companies will be ones who adapt to this changing digital context," he said. "For instance, content creators would 'push' programmes through traditional channel agendas. Today, the shift is towards a 'pull' or demand-consumption behaviour. Programmes can be pulled from the Internet."
"The experience of watching a programme across different channels from large to mobile screens needs to be catered," he said. "Full TV shows are three times more popular on a PC than a mobile."
"There is, of course, a rising trend of user-generated content such as You Tube," he said.
Opportunities in emerging markets
Consumers want access to the Internet. He cited Glenn Brit, CEO of Time Warner Cable, who has said: "We are beginning to see the beginnings of cord-cutting where people, particularly young people, are saying, 'All I need is broadband. I don't need video.'"
Consumers are exerting more control, he said. "The no preference responses are down for every question, and this seems to be growing annually."
"Especially in Malaysia where there are fewer legacies than say UK," he said. "This means consumers are leapfrogging into new behaviours. And there seems to be a growing acceptance of paying for content through the Internet by subscription models, which could outperform pay-per-download models, especially among young people."
"As well as the younger generation, another opportunity for content creators to consider is the over-55 group," he said. "Two and a half times as many as last year in this group would watch mobile content."
"Consumers also display a loyalty to content loyalty, a programme, rather than the channel and there is evidence of viewers jumping from channel to channel to follow a particular programme."
"Emerging markets such as Malaysia and Brazil have fewer legacies and are willing to pay for digital content," he said. "Multiple business models and more automated digital content supply chain is the order of the day.”
