If you are among the integrators who did not sell and install as many big screen TVs or satellite systems last fall or prior to the Super Bowl, you might want to blame San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

As many know, Kaepernick decided to kneel during the national anthem before games last season. Well, it turns out that it definitely had an effect on fans… but it probably was not the one he desired. 

According to the massive 43-page Q4 2016 Video Trends Report  study by TiVo detailing TV watching habits for Q4 2016, the decline in viewing of National Football League (NFL) games last year was definitely in part due to a political backlash from fans.

The survey results showed that 18.2 percent of respondents watched fewer NFL games than they did one year ago. But TiVo wanted to know: what prompted this decline?

The dollar amount consumers say they are willing to pay for their “top 20” TV channels continues to drop. 

While the top three answers were no surprise …

• 36.1 percent — my schedule is busier this year
• 25.9 percent — games are not as exciting this season
• 21.3 percent — too many commercials

… 23 percent answered “other,” and this caught TiVo’s attention.

The high percentage triggered an in-depth analysis to identify any noteworthy trends. Of the “other” responses, 46.5 percent wrote that they changed their NFL game viewing habits because of political issues (e.g., kneeling during the national anthem).

If instead of “other,” the survey had listed an answer choice such as “politics related to teams/players,” 10.7 percent of total respondents would have selected that answer.

Another element of the study looked at the most desired channels in an à la carte package, but also how much respondents would like to pay for each channel, with results broken down by U.S. and Canadian respondents.

This quarter, the ideal price respondents would pay for the top 20 channels dropped dramatically, decreasing 12.3 percent among U.S. respondents.

The survey also looked at pay-TV providers’ TV Everywhere Offerings (TVE). 

Since the launch of the survey in 2012, TiVo has seen slow growth in the adoption of pay-TV providers’ TV Everywhere offerings. However, for the past three consecutive quarters, respondents’ adoption of TVE has seen a tremendous spike. 

Some highlights include:

Awareness

49.1 percent of respondents are aware of their pay-TV provider’s app. Great news for pay-TV providers is that TVE app awareness grew 2.0 percent quarter over quarter and 9.1 percent yeaer over year.

In Q4 2016, survey respondents became more aware of TVE offerings than in any quarter measured before, since the start of this question four years ago in Q4 2012.

Adoption

30.9 percent of respondents access their pay-TV provider’s TVE app, a trend that saw positive growth with increases of 2.8 percent quarter over quarter and 9.4 percent year over year.

Just like app awareness, adoption of TVE apps is at its peak across all quarters, dating as far back as Q2 2013.

Engagement

61.5 percent of respondents access their pay-TV provider’s TVE app on a weekly basis, an increase of 3.1 percent quarter over quarter, and 16.1 percent eyar over year.

Also, 58 percent of respondents are engaged with content discovery functionality (search/recommendations) offered in their TVE app.

Search is used by 46.7 percent of TVE users, with an increase of 5.3 percent year over year. Recommendations is used by 27.5 percent, an increase of 2.8 percent year over year.

Integrators will find the study to be a fascinating glimpse into the minds of their clients and gives a sense of trends of which CE pros need to be aware. 

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