DVRS, OTHER HIGH-END VIDEO DEVICES GAIN TRACTION; COMPLEXITY, CONSUMER CONTROL ALSO ON THE RISE

Authoritative service helps quantify challenge new technologies pose for measurement providers

Menlo Park, CA; June 30, 2004: Ownership of a variety of consumer video technologies—from digital video recorders (DVRs) to high-definition TVs (HDTVs) to home computers with TV inputs—continues to enjoy healthy growth, giving consumers unprecedented control of their viewing experience—and testing long-established advertising and measurement approaches as never before.

According to the just-released 2004 Ownership and Trend Report from The Home Technology Monitor™:

• 4% of TV homes report owning a DVR (such as TiVO™) –
  a figure that has doubled in the past 6 months;
• 6% have an HDTV set, up 50% versus six months ago;
• 18% a VCR/DVD dual deck; and
• 5% a PC with a TV tuner.

To different degrees, each of these technologies gives consumers more options and greater control of the video entertainment experience. The report also cautions that homes with TV technologies such as these may be excluded from standard TV measurement samples because they could be considered "technically difficult"—even though these households often represent high-income, "early adopting" consumers whom advertisers wish to reach.

"The proliferation of video technology in the past 10 years is transforming the media use habits of mainstream consumers," said David Tice, Vice President, Knowledge Networks/SRI. "Though the options for reaching consumers with marketing messages are multiplying, viewers are also exerting greater control over their entertainment options. To maintain an informed marketplace, measurement systems must keep pace with these changes; but current approaches can exclude the very households that advertisers need to understand most. This is troubling news, because these consumers are disproportionately affluent and heavy media users."

The 2004 Ownership and Trend Report provides independent universe estimates on

• TV and related equipment;
• computer and online usage;
• cell phones and wireless technologies; and
• home viewing setups and locations.

It also addresses technology relationships and trends, and TV and technology attitudes among users. Understanding inter-relationships between technologies and demographic factors, as well as a historical context, can enable wiser business strategy and technology resource investment for any organization that is a stakeholder in television advertising.

The Home Technology Monitor™ is the definitive source of reliable insights into how consumers use and respond to media-related technologies, from broadband to DVRs to wireless Internet access. The program builds on two decades of research, combining top-quality nationwide surveys of technology ownership with special reports on key devices and services. These special reports are usually based on Knowledge Networks/SRI's exclusive How People Use® Media methodology, a proven technique for studying the quality of media exposures.

Knowledge Networks delivers quality you can use—superior methodologies, design, and analysis that give you an edge when it comes to making smart, safe business decisions. KN's unmatched consumer research resources include the only projectable Web-based consumer panel. The company leverages its expertise in brands, media, advertising, and analytics to provide insights that speak directly to clients' most important marketing issues. In addition, Knowledge Networks has built a substantial practice in government and academic research, an area notable for its rigorous methodology standards.

In 2001, Knowledge Networks acquired assets and expertise from Statistical Research, creating Knowledge Networks/SRI. KN/SRI is one of the country's leading authorities on consumers' use and ownership of media and technology. The company is the leading measurement provider for Yellow Pages directories; other specialties include cross-media allocation (MultiMedia Mentor™) and studies of consumers' interactions with media (How People Use® research).