Brits Swap Sofa for Social When it Comes to 'Event TV'
LONDON/PRNewswire/ ---- The Nation are Sharing and Chatting Online as Live TV Shows Play out
With the rise of 'event TV' like X Factor, Strictly Come
Dancing and sporting events, more and more Brits are using social networks
and instant messaging to chat to friends as the events unfold. Research from
Intel has found that almost half of (45%) Brits have admitted to using sites
like Twitter, Facebook and MSN messenger to discuss a TV programme whilst
it's on air.
Surprisingly, it's the girls who are leading this social
change with more than half (51%) of them using the online chat offerings
whilst watching TV when compared to only 38% of men. With the ease of staying
in touch online, a fifth (21%) of Brits would actually cancel a social
engagement if it meant missing their favourite programme. Fuelling this
technological revolution is the increasing amount of hardware people have
access to. Other devices used while watching TV include a laptop (57%), a
desktop computer (23%) and an internet enabled smart phone (19%).
In fact, two thirds (63%) would like for their TV to access
the internet so that they can find more information on the shows they're
watching, shop online and use social networking sites.
The year's biggest TV events have seen conversation go online
world-wide. While X Factor attracted over 11 Tweets per second (11.49), last
year's Strictly Come Dancing drove almost 7 Tweets per second (6.67)[i] and
even the more serious UK election debates drove over 29 (29.06) tweets per
second[ii].
Commenting on the research, David McKeown, Sales & Marketing
at Intel UK & Ireland, said: "It seems we are becoming a nation of armchair
pundits, sitting watching TV with laptops at the ready so we can share our
own commentary and opinions with friends and family whilst watching popular
TV through social networks like Twitter and Facebook. The rise of event TV is
really fuelling this trend, especially for women who are talking about shows
like X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing."
"This clearly demonstrates an appetite from consumers to have
Internet connectivity whilst watching TV. Smart TV - a technological
revolution will change the way we view TV forever. It will not only become
more interactive and responsive, but it will make TV an even more social
experience", David added.
Smart TVs will enable users to tailor content to their
individual needs and interact about latest programmes more socially and
immediately. Intel is at the heart of creating the platforms to make this
revolution possible by working closely with the likes of Google TV and
YouView in the UK.
Smart TV solutions featuring the Intel(R) Atom(TM) processor
combine performance, world-class HD video and audio decode and advanced
graphics. Intel's vision is to bring personal content, favourite websites and
social networks to the TV in a new way.
Notes to editors
Survey information
This independent survey was conducted in August 2010 by RedShift Research
on behalf of Intel through an online questionnaire. The respondents were
nationally-representative of the adult population. The breakdown of the 7,012
respondents by region is: France (1,007), Germany (994), Italy (1,002),
Netherlands (994), Spain (1,000), Sweden (1,002) and UK (1,002).
Other findings include:
- 40% watch TV to spend time with family and friends
- 68% spend more time with the family watching TV than dining together
- 39% find the number of TV channels overwhelming
- 94% watch the same handful of programmes every night
- Almost half (47%) want to watch popular TV shows at the same
time as everyone else
- 57% of online comments posted are in relation to 'event TV'
live sports or reality TV shows like X Factor and Strictly Come
Dancing
About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), the world leader in silicon innovation, develops
technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work
and live. Additional information about Intel is available at
http://www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.
Intel, Intel logo and Intel Atom are trademarks of Intel Corporation in
the United States and/or other countries.
* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
[i] Source: number of Tweets during the broadcasts sourced from MAP
Sysomes Online tool calculated using the length of the show. For more
information visit map.sysomes.com
[ii] Source: eWeek Europe, `Tweeters Love Nick Clegg in Real-Time Debate
Response', April 16, 2010
Contact:
Perveen Akhtar
Intel UK PR Manager
+44-(0)1793-403136
Perveen.akhtar@intel.com
Miranda Gulland
Hill & Knowlton
+44-(0)207-973-5987
mgulland@hillandknowlton.com
Source: Intel
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