Survey: Consumers willing to purchase low-cost NextGen TV box

A rooftop antenna. (Photo by "flrnt" via Flickr/Creative Commons, Graphic by The Desk) — A rooftop antenna. (Photo by “flrnt” via Flickr/Creative Commons, Graphic by The Desk)

Key Points

A study from Pearl TV and Magid found most Americans would buy a converter box to keep access to free over-the-air television.
Around two-thirds of viewers rely on broadcast TV for local news, weather and sports programming.
The findings come as broadcasters push adoption of NextGen TV, which requires new compatible devices.

Most Americans are willing to shell out for a digital converter box to maintain access to free, over-the-air local television stations, according to a new consumer survey released this week.

The study, conducted by Magid on behalf of industry consortium Pearl TV, involved 600 American adults between the ages of 25 and 54 years old — one of the key TV demographics for broadcast advertisers — who have an antenna attached to at least one TV in their home.

Nearly all Americans who use an antenna say they would miss access to free broadcast TV if it went away, while more than two-thirds say they rely on broadcast TV to get local news programming, the survey revealed. About the same number of people who watch broadcast TV for news say the medium is also used to learn about the weather, and nearly half of Americans with an antenna watch local and national sports programming on a regular basis.

Currently, anyone with a conventional antenna and a TV or converter box with a conventional digital tuner can watch free broadcast TV in their area, though the precise number of channels they receive depends largely on where they live. Nearly all Americans have access to the five major broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and the CW Network — and most have access to programming from PBS, Ion Network, Univision, Telemundo, digital multicast networks and independent TV stations.

A newer standard, called NextGen TV, promises to increase the number of digital channels available to Americans by using a hybrid approach to delivering programs. In addition to conventional broadcast signals, NextGen TV utilizes Internet platforms to deliver supplemental programming streams and interactive features, including hyperlocal emergency alerts, catch-up services and targeted advertising.

Broadcasters say NextGen TV offers a significant advantage over the current transmission standard, in a way that will allow them to expand programming choices to consumers and reap the benefits of targeted advertising, something available to streaming and social media platforms. But NextGen TV isn’t compatible with digital TV tuners found in most American homes today, which means consumers will need to shell out for a new smart TV compatible with NextGen TV technology or purchase a standalone converter box to receive the new signals.

Around 70 percent of the country currenty lives in an area where NextGen TV signals are being transmitted, but it isn’t clear how many people are actually watching those stations. Nonetheless, much of the commercial broadcasting industry is pushing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a mandate that would require TV stations to shut off their existing signals and move to NextGen TV full time within the next four years. (Some broadcasters are urging the FCC to consider a voluntary transition, rather than a mandatory one; a few TV companies have suggested a hybrid approach, where a limited amount of TV programming is offered under the current standard in order to give consumers an adequate amount of time to switch from one technology to the other.)

If a mandate moves forward, Pearl TV offers that most consumers will be willing to shell out whatever it costs to acquire the necessary equipment to maintain access to free, over-the-air programming. In January, the organization announced a new program to encourage hardware manufacturers to produce low-cost converter boxes for NextGen TV signals, which will allow viewers to access live programming but skip out on some costlier features like recording shows and movies. The Desk was the first to report that Pearl TV was aiming for a price point of $60 per box.

According to Magid and Pearl TV’s study, younger consumers have shown a strong interest in a cheap converter box, so they can maintain access to local TV programming. Overall, 64 percent of respondents said they’d purchase a cheap converter box, compared to 14 percent who were willing to spend between $300 and $2,000 on a newer smart TV with a NextGen TV tuner.

“This report highlights the evolution of the American consumer and the local television landscape,” Bill Hague, the Executive Vice President at Magid, said in a statement. “We have been researching the benefits of NextGen TV with U.S. consumers with Pearl TV for more than 10 years and one key finding of this study is that the younger end of the adult 25- to 64-year-old sample was most interested in the converter box.”

Curiously, the study also noted that Americans who might lack access to free broadcast TV due to the lack of adoption of a converter box might not have to go without their local TV programming altogether. Magid and Pearl TV found that most Americans are “omni-viewers” — they use multiple services and platforms to watch live and on-demand TV, including streaming services. Some of those services, like YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV, offer live programming from network-affiliated TV stations across the country.

“This research confirms that over-the-air viewers are diverse, modern and highly engaged,” said Anne Schelle, the Managing Director of Pearl TV. “Local broadcasting is not being replaced — it’s being integrated into broader viewing habits. A converter option ensures these growing audiences can continue receiving trusted local news, sports and emergency information as broadcast technology evolves.”

Survey: Consumers willing to purchase low-cost NextGen TV box

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