Content Discovery Required for the More than 30 Billion Items To Be Viewed in the US this Year

Scottsdale, Ariz., June 17, 2013--Multimedia Research Group (MRG) believes that the growth of TV multi-taskers, defined as people who are using a second screen device to view or control content related to what they are watching on the big screen (TV), will be the primary users of personal program guides, and will spur continued use and development of recommendation engines. Research data confirms that there are approximately 36 million mobile device owners (14% of US 13+ adults) that use their smartphones and/or tablets in association with TV programs they are currently watching. This TV multi-tasking behavior is expected to grow to 114 million (54% of 13+ adults) users in the US by 2017.

TV program guides have evolved from the basic TV guides to interactive program guides (IPGs) with TV program schedules, expanded metadata, VOD recommendations and banner ads. The next evolutionary step is to the personal program guide (PPG) that delivers personalized TV schedules and VOD recommendations, multiscreen access and TV control, as well as personalized advertisements. Today’s recommendation systems already offer the technology needed to support personal program guides.

Consumers will also be using their mobile devices for first-screen viewing of video. While 55% of smartphone owners do not currently view video on smartphones, mobile video viewing in the US is expected to grow from 77 million users in 2012 to 129 million users in 2017.

The sheer magnitude of these forecasts as well as the growing number of on-demand titles, or "items" being viewed, illustrates the tremendous impact recommendation systems will have on the TV industry over the coming years. Recommendation engines will control our TV viewing behavior and customer satisfaction. They will be instrumental in attracting new service subscribers/users and will allow service providers to expand advertising revenue and optimize profitability. Most importantly, recommendation systems will usher in the new personalized TV experience. TV viewing will never be the same.

MRG's latest report, Recommendation Engines Usher in the Personalized TV Experience sheds light on how recommendation engines perform their magic. They are by no means all the same. Primary research data documents current viewer behavior and future preferences regarding video content discovery. The report outlines how recommendation systems will help evolve from today’s integrated program guides (IPGs) to the personalized, intelligent personal program guides (PPGs) of tomorrow. Multi-year forecasts predicting the adoption of TV multi-taskers (people who use PPGs residing on mobile devices to control the in-home TV experience) and mobile video users (viewing on-demand video on smartphones and tablets) is presented. In addition, a five-year forecast projecting a baseline volume of on-demand video items selected by US consumers confirms the vital role of recommender systems in the future.