Washington – The promotion group behind the ATSC M/H mobile DTV
format, the
Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC)
,
said Tuesday it has teamed with market research resources Harris Interactive
and Rentrak to jointly study consumer usage habits for new portable TV devices.
The OMVC, Harris Interactive and Rentrak will utilize Harris’s
Early Adopter Community (EAC) and Rentrak’s Mobile Essentials service during
the spring and summer to measure and perform a detailed analysis of consumer
viewing trend patterns.
Harris’s EAC is a Web-based research tool that will survey
testers regarding their attitudes and opinions about Mobile DTV viewing. Key
metrics that will be studied by the team during the project include determining
the most active day parts, how long viewers remain engaged, and what genres of
content are most compelling and frequently viewed.
“One of the key advantages of Mobile DTV is the built-in
ability to measure viewer activity, giving broadcasters a much better picture
of what consumers are actually watching, when they watch, and where. We’ve
selected Harris Interactive and Rentrak to perform this important service with
devices that have a return channel, and we anticipate that this window into
consumer behavior will help us deliver more relevant information and
entertainment to viewers who are on-the-go,” stated Brandon Burgess, OMVC president
and ION Media Networks chairman and CEO.
Currently, more than 30 television stations are transmitting
Mobile DTV signals throughout the country for market testing and use, with many
more expected throughout the year as more receiving devices roll out.
The OMVC is running a Washington D.C. Consumer Showcase to evaluate
quantitative and qualitative usage for each of the selected device platforms.
The purpose of the showcase is to understand factors that may
motivate greater usage of Mobile DTV, early adoption, propensity to tolerate
pay services, interactive services and usage patterns, as well as to learn more
about the core qualitative aspects of the user experience from pre-adoption to
post-usage insights.
Mobile DTV applications to be tested, under a recently approved
technical standard, include favorite live, local television programs just as
they are transmitted to D.C.-area homes, interactive broadcasts made possible
by the new Mobile DTV standard, and lifesaving emergency alerts for weather
incidents and other unforeseen events, the OMVC said.
Eight local area television stations will be transmitting up to
20 channels of free and premium broadcast TV programming in the Washington
test, the OMVC said.
Washington area stations participating in the OMVC Consumer
Showcase include WDCA-DT (Fox Television Stations), WUSA-DT (Gannett
Broadcasting), WPXW-DT (ION Media Networks), WRC-DT (NBC Universal), WHUT-DT
(Howard University/PBS), WNVC-DT (MHz Networks), WNUV-DT (Sinclair Broadcast
Group), and WFDC-DT (Univision Communications).
Signals will be receivable by a range of new Mobile DTV products
either in the market now or coming soon. Mobile DTV enabled products include netbook
computers, cell phones, accessory Wi-Fi receivers, and portable DVD players with
ATSC M/H tuners.
“The early-adopter community provides an excellent
opportunity to observe and analyze viewing trend patterns,” stated Harris
Interactive president and CEO, Kimberly Till. “Bringing hundreds of people
together to experience Mobile DTV content in a private, online setting allows
for true feedback about consumer attitudes, opinions and behavior in this
emerging broadcast television market. We are thrilled to be a part of this
research with the OMVC and Rentrak.”
“Rentrak is bullish about the future of delivering broadcast
television content across all screens, including mobile devices. We are very
pleased to be working with the OMVC and Harris Interactive to further study and
share field trial knowledge with key industry stakeholders who are evaluating
how to best to engage consumers who view television and video content on mobile
devices,” said Ken Papagan, Rentrak president and chief strategy officer.
