Despite the seeming plethora of on-demand video opportunities fueled by the likes of Apple TV (Nasdaq: AAPL), Google TV (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Hulu, TV watching continues to be a sedentary exercise for a huge audience of couch potatoes who also enjoy the social experience of watching television in a group, according to a Bloomberg story.
"There's inertia in terms of where people spend their time that's stronger than we expected," said Charlie Kim, head of Bain & Co., a media consulting firm. "TV viewing is at an all-time high. The sector that we're in is, in some ways, leading the economy," chimed in Viacom (NYSE: VIA) CEO Philippe Dauman.
Change is coming, to be sure, but even internationally, it's not happening as fast as what some would suggest and broadcasters are encouraged by that and the fact that advertising revenues are rebounding.
"Cable networks have historically been a really good business for us, since they bring in revenue from subscriptions a swell as from advertising. That model works are customers are used to it," Dauman said in the Bloomberg story.
His counterpart, Thomas Ebeling, CEO of ProSiebenSat.1 AG, purportedly Germany's biggest private broadcaster agreed. "Consumers want shows and events that bring family and friends together in front of the TV and which they can discuss with everyone in the office the next day."
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