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PVRs won't hit the mainstream for years

Ed Bott: PVRs won't hit the mainstream for years:

If you own a TiVo, or a Media Center PC, or a PVR from your cable company, you're part of an elite. A new research report from Accenture says that the percentage of U.S. homes with personal video recorders will increase by 500% in the next four years, but even in 2009 more than half of U.S. homes still won't have the equipment to record, pause, or time-shift TV.

Interesting summation of an Accenture study showing PVR adoption is probably slower than we think. I'm not entirely surprised as I never really thought about PVRs taking over the majority of homes for quite a while. Most people I talk to have heard of and want a TiVo or TiVo-like device, but most are wary of adding more complexity to their previously simple TV watching lifestyle. I really think the key to PVR adoption is making it nearly free and making the interface as easy as possible to use. Right now we don't have that: easy to use TiVo is costly, and free cable company PVRs have dreadful interfaces.

The results of this study also shouldn't detract advertisers from going after PVR owners -- right now that small elite group is a marketer's dream. Highly educated, highly paid, and ready to plunk money down on things like fancy TVs and PVRs.

by Matt Haughey June 23, 2005 in News

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