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Week ending March 29, 2008

ABI Research - US TV Viewers Embrace High Definition (Sort of); Rarely Use Pay-per-View

from Nicole Fabris ABI Research

In December of 2007 ABI Research conducted an online survey of 1002 television and video consumers in the United States. Its aim was to measure American consumers’ viewing and content/service purchasing habits and preferences – information of critical importance to all members of today’s video entertainment value chain. While the survey draws no single conclusion and does not generalize about “typical” TV/video consumption, it reveals some surprising facts about viewer’s attitudes and activities.

66% subscribe to some form of pay-TV service, and of those, 60% receive at least one additional service (telephone, Internet etc.) from their provider. However, only 54% of respondents declared themselves satisfied overall with their providers: pricing and customer service are the biggest sources of discontent. But Janet Wise, director of primary research, notes that, “Given that nearly 30% of all respondents’ reasons for choosing their providers involved a lack of choice or unawareness of alternatives, perhaps providers do not have to worry just yet.”

41% of TV owners have a high-definition TV, but surprisingly, only 56% of this group subscribe to a HD service package. ABI Research senior analyst Cesar Bachelet advises that, “Pay-TV operators need to close this gap by highlighting what HDTV owners without a HD package are missing out on.”

A substantial 45% of viewers say they use pay-per-view, but not often: most do so just once a month or less. “Low pay-per-view use poses a key challenge for pay-TV operators,” says Bachelet.

Generally, interest in “next generation” TV services is low (although greater in younger viewers), with the one exception being the ability to move content sourced from the Internet from the PC to the TV.

Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) are owned by a significant minority of users, with the result, says Bachelet, that, “Alliances with games console manufacturers (e.g. IPTV services through Xbox 360) could represent a significant opportunity for online content/ gaming services.”<

Radio Netherlands Worldwide releases its own film about Fitna - March 25, 2008

from Marjolein Klaassen-Hulst/RNW

Radio Netherlands Worldwide has produced a short film in connection with the expected release of the film 'Fitna, the movie' by Dutch MP Geert Wilders. The film 'About Fitna, the Netherlands and Wilders' provides answers to many of the questions raised around the world regarding this film. The film is intended for an international audience, and is available on the internet in English, Arabic and Indonesian. The film has just been released on the website www.aboutfitnathemovie.com and on the main website of Radio Netherlands Worldwide (www.rnw.nl).

In this nine-minute film, the central figure wrestles with questions about Geert Wilders and his motives. How important is freedom of expression in the Netherlands? What is the role of the Dutch government in this regard? Why isn't it intervening? How are Muslims in the Netherlands reacting to the film? He travels from the Islamic world to the Netherlands in search of answers to these questions.

The film includes contributions from Professor Wasif Shadid (Professor of Intercultural Communication at the University of Leiden), programme maker Eersin Kiris, Mohammed Rabbae (former MP for the GreenLeft party and current chairman of Landelijk Beraad Marokkanen - a national consultative body representing the Netherlands' Moroccan community) and Umar Murza (Editor-in-Chief of www.wijblijvenhier.nl, a website for Muslims in the Netherlands). It also features footage - already shown on television - of comments and statements made by Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Geert Wilders MP.

Wim Jansen, acting Editor-in-Chief of RNW, describes this initiative by Radio Netherlands Worldwide as follows: "Although nobody has seen the film yet, Mr Wilders' announcement of its making and the discussion that has followed in the Netherlands have raised questions all over the world. As the Netherlands' international broadcaster, RNW is uniquely placed to provide a journalistic explanation of the background to this discussion and of Geert Wilders."

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