Consumers Uncomfortable With Smart TV Data Collection: Survey

Consumers aren’t comfortable with their data being collected by smart TVs, according to a survey conducted by Videa, Cox Media’s automated ad platform.

The survey found that 48% of consumers said they were somewhat, mostly or completely uncomfortable with advertisers collecting smart TV data.

Related: Vizio Settles Smart TV Data Collection Complaint

Only 39% said they are somewhat, mostly or completely comfortable with their data being collected by advertisers. The answer most given, at 21% of respondents, was that they were completely uncomfortable with the data collection.

Related: When Smart TVs Get Too Personal, What's the MSO Role?

The study also asked about cord-cutting. Consumers surveyed said they would miss live programming or specific programs if they gave up their pay TV subscriptions. They also said they would miss news channels, weather, sports, channel-surfing and the variety they now get.

In these divisive times, the survey also found that the majority (61%) of respondents said they had some or a lot of trust in the information they get from local news organizations.

A survey last year bythe Pew Research Center found that 22% of the adults it surveyed had a lot of trust in local news, and that another 60% had some trust, for a total of 82%. That compared to 18% who had a lot of trust in national news organizations and 59% who had some trust. Social media garnered only 4% of respondents who said they had a lot of trust, and 30% had some trust.

Related: Pew: Older Demos Drive Mobile News Growth

Videa’s survey found that 59% of the respondents said they get their local news from TV, compared with 38% via social media, 36% from print and 36% from local radio.

Among viewers who said they had a clear preference, 62% said they trusted local news over national news, while 38% said they trusted national news more.

Of those trusting local news, 31% said they trust it because there is less bias or no political agenda, the survey found.

Videa's survey was conducted online with 1,145 adults responding between March 21 and March 22. The figures have been weighted to make they representative of all U.S. adults.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.