NBC: 77% of Users View Online Video as a Complement to TV

Source: http://www.centernetworks.com/nbc-rewind-study

NBC has released the results of a research study it completed with users of its NBC Direct service and the NBC Rewind player. NBC Direct is an online and downloadable client which allows a user to view full episodes of current on-air NBC shows at no charge. Video streams from NBC Direct are up 25% in 2008 vs. 2007 and uniques are up 7%. Interesting note, American Gladiators and Deal or No Deal are the two most popular shows on the online video service.

Here are some of the highlights of the study:

• Dramatically higher brand recall for ad content created specifically for the internet vs. previous quarters (86% vs. 70%-75%)
• High agreement that Rewind ads are less disruptive than ads on television, and a strong desire to interact with advertising. In fact, ads with interactive elements were more likely to elicit higher brand recall as well as higher agreement that ads were entertaining and relevant.
• 77 percent of users streaming video as a complement to TV viewing (the majority report catching a missed episode online).
• Over a quarter of respondents also reported sampling a new show while viewing online, with the majority continuing to watch the show after trial, both on air and online.

The real question is when will NBC integrate Hulu into the NBC properties and drop NBC Direct/Rewind? I understand that Hulu is in beta but the expenses of maintaining two video systems that have, at least, some overlap seems redundant. Also check out my rant about what I'd like in a video service.