Archive notice: This article was originally published on November 5, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Market-share shifts at the expense of established programs are a reality today. Germany is increasingly becoming a pay-TV country and is catching up with European developments. Between 2000 and 2007, the number of specialty channels more than tripled, according to the study “Digital TV: The Mirage Becomes Real,” commissioned by NBC UNIVERSAL Global Networks Germany from Goldmedia, a follow-up study to “Fata Morgana Digital” from 2004. The follow-up study takes up from there and, alongside general questions on the development of the digital TV broadcaster landscape, also illuminates the special advertising effect of specialty channels and viewer involvement. For the first time, the latest pupillometric methods (eye tracking) from the field of usability research are used. The results will be presented on November 7 as part of the Munich Media Days on the panel “Digital TV: The Mirage Becomes Real.”
There are now 420 television broadcasters in Germanny, of which 107 are currently German-language target-group channels. The study commissioned by NBC UNIVERSAL Global Networks Germany from Goldmedia examines the broadcaster landscape in Germany and, for the first time, the advertising effect of specialty programs in direct comparison with a full-service program.
The NBC UNIVERSAL pay-TV channels Sci Fi and THE HISTORY CHANNEL were compared with the full-service program RTL. During the survey period between mid-July and the end of September, 46 subjects with an average age of 31 years and average TV consumption of two and a half hours a day were used for the study. Alongside classic methods, biometric methods were also used in the study. Through a systematic pupil analysis, an index for determining involvement could be derived.
The result: Whether subjective assessment or biometric measurement – the viewer of specialty television has a significantly higher affinity for the program shown than the viewer of the full-service program. The higher affinity is reflected in the fact that the program was rated better overall and perceived as more entertaining, as well as having higher relevance for the respective recipient.
In addition, a subconscious decision level was measured in which the subjects’ activation performance was recorded. Activation performance provides information about the extent of information processing – here too, the specialty channels were ahead. Viewers of the thematic channels show higher involvement, which also has a positive effect on the recall and assessment of the commercials. In the prompted query procedure, Sci Fi viewers best remember the brands shown: When pointed to the product groups, 68 percent name the correct brands; for THE HISTORY CHANNEL it is 58 percent, for RTL 45 percent.
Due to the increased mental activity on the specialty channels, the unaided recognition values are also higher. RTL viewers show a significantly greater loss of attention during the commercial break. In addition, the spots on the thematic channels are perceived as far less disruptive, and the advertised products are therefore perceived more positively.
