SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 25, 2014 — Tablet TV is nearing its San Francisco-area beta launch in partnership with the KOFY-TV station, owned by Granite Broadcasting – and the timing looks to be ideal. There is extremely strong market demand for an untethered tablet live television solution, and the demographics of this market are the kind that advertisers love. By putting the ability to watch and record all subscription-free, live HD television anywhere directly onto tablets (through an over-the-air signal transmitted to a small antenna), Tablet TV looks well-positioned to capitalize on consumers’ unmet needs. That’s according to new data from Frank N. Magid Associates, a research-based strategy consulting firm. Magid’s latest research finds a clear market opportunity for Tablet TV, as 33% of all tablet owners consider themselves very likely to use Tablet TV. Given that almost half of the current US population with Internet access owns a tablet, or about 110 million people, the scale of the opportunity is clear.
“The data from Magid Associates confirms our belief that there is a strong appeal to have a simple TV destination on tablets that makes it easy to watch and record live, free, HD broadcast TV without needing an internet connection, video-on-demand movies and programs, integrated social networking, and access to everything available on the internet,” says Leonard M. Fertig, CEO Motive Television. “Providing a low-cost way for tablet viewers to watch the most popular programs with measurable viewing information for the industry on the fastest growing screens in America is our goal.”
Furthermore, the demand for tablet television content is overwhelming – and continues to increase. Tablet owners spend two-and-a-half hours per day on their tablets, and one-third of them watch video on the devices daily. More than half of tablet owners would watch additional television content on their tablets if it were available, and this is far higher for those that are very interested in Tablet TV.
Tablet TV will allow consumers to watch free over-the-air television any time, anywhere they want. Tablet owners interested in Tablet TV plan to spend nearly half of their viewing time watching television on their tablets away from home, at places like sporting events and airports. And at home, Tablet TV would offer a robust second-screen viewing option, which has become of particular importance to advertisers.
Yet even more attractive to advertisers may be the market that Tablet TV is set to capture. Consumers very interested in Tablet TV are largely 25-54 year-olds with a broad ethnic representation, especially among Hispanics, are more likely to be parents, and are heavy media consumers across the board. Given that watching local news content on tablets is of primary interest to this group, media companies will surely take note as well.
“We have watched video viewing on tablets climb steadily for years now, but it has remained clear that a huge opportunity existed around letting consumers watch live television content on tablets,” says Andrew Hare, Magid’s Director of Research. “Consumers essentially want to be able to watch whatever they want, whenever they want, wherever they want, and we haven’t seen anything that offered this until now – clearly Tablet TV could fulfill a huge market need,” added Hare.
For more information, contact Andrew Hare at ahare@magid.com.
How Table TV Works
Tablet TV is a video television service that will enable the viewing of free, live, high definition Broadcast Television (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, Univision, etc.) over-the-air television channels on your tablet. Tablet TV also enables you to record broadcast television content for later viewing such as live network prime time programming, local news, major sporting events and more. All these features are available without the need for a cable, satellite, Internet connection or cellular phone data plan.
Second, in addition to watching Broadcast Television for free on your tablet regardless of whether or not you have a pay TV subscription, Internet connection, or cellular phone data plan, you can also watch premium movies or TV shows on demand through Tablet TV.
Third and finally, Tablet TV enables internet connected viewers to access social media capabilities such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. where you can learn and exchange information about the video content of interest.
The Tablet TV startup kit consists of a T-Pod, powered by ePICT (which acts as an antenna), and an app which is downloaded to your tablet. The T-Pod connects wirelessly with the tablet and the app enables the Tablet TV user to navigate Broadcast TV channels, record programs, and access Video On Demand (VOD) offerings.
About Tablet TV
Tablet TV LLC is a joint venture between Motive Television plc and Granite Broadcasting Corporation. It offers the first US broadcast television service specifically for tablets. Tablet TV plans to launch its first beta market test with Granite Broadcasting’s San Francisco-based KOFY-TV by the end of the summer.
About Frank N. Magrid Assoicates
Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc. is a leading research-based consulting firm that has been studying the evolving media landscape and its impact on consumer behavior for almost 60 years. Interviewing millions of consumers each year, Magid leverages its consumer insights to help investors and brands anticipate market shifts and identify growth opportunities. Magid serves clients through offices in Minneapolis, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, and Marion, Iowa.
SOURCE Tablet Television LLC; Frank N. Magid Associates