Internet TV focus group

A typical blog is about one individual’s world view of a particular topic.  When it comes to politics and religion, the phrase ‘Birds of a feather flock together’ comes to mind.  The last thing I want to do is spew my own bias onto the web only for others to regurgitate my own preconceived notions of the impact of Internet TV.  Therefore, I conducted 3 focus groups at work to see what others (not me) think about it in an effort to challenge my own assumptions.   This gave me an opportunity to listen to learn!  Something my wife encourages me to do on a regular basis.  (oh wise one;)

Here at RTC, we have a diverse group.  Younger/Older.  Techie/Non Techie.  Inside Dwellers/Outside Dwellers.  White collar/Blue collar. 1meg/50meg.   Yogurt lovers and those that hate Yogurt.

So, in this post, let us ignore my humble opinions and focus on diverse group think.
31 fellow employees were kind enough to take an hour out of their day to provide some feedback on Internet TV.  Some thoughts:

-    Miss being able to just flip thru the channels
-    Need more live sports and content in general to switch
-    Don’t like having to pay for more equipment to switch from cable to Internet TV & Antenna
-    I use cable for regular TV but Netflix and a Roku box for movies instead of renting them or Red Box.
-    Hard time finding shows
-    There is nothing on Hulu for me to watch
-    Love the channels available but need more
-    Don’t like to wait to watch (buffering)
-    Folks don’t care how the service is delivered just that it works
-    This is something for Customers who ask ‘ok, I have fiber now what do I do with it?’

The group generally agreed that Internet TV is getting better not worse.  That today, it is quite useful despite some of the current limitations.  Regarding setup, intuitiveness, and usage, the group believes these rank all very favorable.  For example, nobody had an issue using or setting up a box.  The only negative "think" for Internet TV is the lack of live content specifically news and sports.  Although, we had some good discussions on alternative sources for news such as espn3, Pandora, and the use of an over the air antenna.

Question for the group:  “Do you see the mass adoption of Internet TV in:?”
<1 year – 0
1-3 years – 11
3-5 years – 14
5+ years – 3
Never - 0

So there you have it.  The group was mixed with some already making a complete switch to Internet TV and ditching cable.  Others that are currently using Internet TV to supplement cable and some who use cable only and prefer to stay that way for now.  It is interesting that nobody choose Internet TV would be used by the masses in less than one year.  However, nobody voted that Internet TV would never take off.  Thus, I am going to interpret this as the Internet is coming to your TV eventually….get ready!

I have more focus groups scheduled for the 19th and 20th of April.  If you have questions you would like to ask me or the group, please comment and would be happy to ask on your behalf.  Thanks!