A survey by some company called Ensequence found that TV viewers want to interact with their TVs. In fact, 70% said that they would consider signing up to another TV provider if they offered advanced interactivity at no extra charge. Apparently, people aren’t just talking back to their TVs–they’re searching on-screen guides, viewing on-demand programming or using DVRs.

  • 72% of viewers watching reality shows want the opportunity to interact with TV
  • 65% said the same of sporting events
  • 66% wanted to interact with commercials.

People should get ready for interactivity because it’s coming via IPTV–that’s essentially TV broadcasts delivered over managed IP networks.  Here in the U.S., AT&T and Verizon have been rolling out IPTV services around the country. Verizon’s FiOS TV service is rolling out fiber to customer homes and now has over 1 million subscribers, which is pretty good for a new TV provider. However Verizon is just using IP for their VOD, not for broadcast TV. Essentially, Verizon is just using cable-type delivery for broadcast. AT&T’s U-Verse, on the other hand is using IP for both broadcast TV and VOD.

Adding IP to TV essentially means bringing the Internet to your TV. Imagine a future where viewers will be able to get scrolling tickers, interactive commercials, e-mail on TV, multiple video angles of a sporting event, phone calls on TV screens, and lots more. That’s the promise of IPTV, however neither AT&T or Verizon have added much interactivity yet.

[tags] interactive TV, survey, research, Ensequence, IPTV, U-Verse, FiOS TV, AT&T, Verizon [/tags]