While it’s no surprise that most consumers are interested in an a la carte pay TV services model, the ideal number of channels in such a package would consist of 17, according to a new survey from Digitalsmiths, the TiVo-owned search and recommendation specialist.
Digitalsmiths’ Q1 2015 Video Trends Report, which based its findings on a survey of more than 3,140 consumers, noted that 81.6% of respondents said they are interested in a la carte services that can be bought outside the traditional pay TV bundle.
That could bode well for Sony PlayStation Vue, which announced an a la carte strategy this week that will initially be limited to three offerings subscribers can purchase outside the bundle – Showtime, Fox Soccer Plus and a coming premium service from Machinima.
The survey also found that, on average, consumers would pay about $38 per month for their ideal a la carte package.
More than half of those surveyed – 55.7% -- said they were aware of OTT services such as CBS All Access, Hulu, PlayStation Vue and Sling TV. Of those, the majority (51%) were aware of Hulu, followed by Sling TV (11.9%), PlayStation Vue (11.4%), and CBS All Access (10.5%).
The report also found that 7.7% of respondents switched providers in the last three months, a 2% year-on-year increase. Over the next six months, 15.3% said they plan to either switch (3.1%), change (7.4%) or cut service altogether (4.8%). About 32.4% said they are on the fence and might need to be enticed to stay.
