Broadband News

Faster broadband may not mean more online TV time

Friday, 27 August 2010

By Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk

More than half of Brits would not watch more online television if they had faster, more reliable internet connections, new research has revealed.

55% of people said that faster broadband would not prompt them to watch more broadband TV - with the vast majority only using services like the BBC iPlayer of Channel 4’s 4oD because they missed initial broadcasts of their favourite programmes.

Of those people who do watch TV online, 43% watched less than 15 minutes a day the study by Deloitte and YouGov said.

James Bates, media and telecoms partner at Deloitte, said: "One of the debates over the bottlenecks to consumption of online television has centred over broadband speeds.

“It is generally argued that widely available, faster broadband would catalyse more online television viewing. However, the data indicates that there may not be a direct link between faster broadband and the use of online video, and it is possible that people who watch online video believe that they have sufficient speed.

"It is possible that the figures for video-on-demand may change in the year ahead. 2010 has seen a greater take up of smartphone devices and the emergence of net tablets, which could potentially skew how and when viewers choose to watch their favourite television programmes.”