Nega-Spin, Indeed! The Study Never Even Mentions Tivo!
What a terribly flawed (or limited) study on which to base such a provocative--and negative--headline: We Like TiVo, Just Don’t Want To Buy It! So inflammatory, I don't even know where to begin..
Essentially, it appears the study looks at the changes from January 2004 to January 2005 and concludes, in part, that (1) not that many people want DVRs, and (2) those that do will buy them from their televsion service provider, and (3) ultimately, people think they cost too much, and are too hard to install. (Not surprisingly, that last #3 is pretty much the basis for conclusion #2.)
But, there is a lot left out of the summary provided by Ipsos, so let me just throw out a few thoughts. For example, in the chart that reflects "where did you buy your DVR?", they only show SOME of the answers: Adding up the columns for 2004, they report on where 68 percent of the respondents bought their DVRs; for 2005, they list the percentages that responded in those same four categories--accounting for 80 percent.
So where DID the other 32 percent of DVR purchasers get their devices in 2004? And what about the 20 percent of buyers in 2005? Perhaps what is most disturbing is that, in 2004, they asked where "intenders" planned to get their DVRs, and supposedly 68 percent said "at an electronics store." But according to their own data, when asked in 2005 where DVR "buyers" actually purchased their devices, only 23 percent said "electronics retailer"?!?!?!
So my final beef with Om Malik's aggressive interpretation of this report lies in this statement:
The Ipsos study finds that people would rather get a DVR from their cable or satellite (or soon telephone) company than buy a standalone product.Excuse me? Can we refine that statement a little more, perhaps even make it a little more precise?
Perhaps he read the whole report (who knows, he didn't say), but if he didn't, then he probably based his statement on this from the summary:
The study revealed that consumers are more likely to get their DVRs from satellite and cable providers—collectively, an increase of 23%. Consumers are less likely to obtain a DVR from traditional electronic stores—a decrease of 6% from 2004 to 2005.Notice this wording--it doesn't say that they are "MOST" likely; just more...as in more likely than last year.
I could actually go on and on and on. There is no apparent distinction made between DVRs with online services versus standalone DVD recorders, for example (although that is the biggest price differentiator there is). Notice that there is no discussion of actual perceived prices of DVRs (not to mention service). Finally, I wonder what the study would make of more specific features, such as Tivo's TivoToGo and Multiroom Viewing?
Time for the personal disclosure: I own 3 Tivos, all purchased in Summer 2004, directly from Tivo (remanufactured), for $50 each (although we are still fighting over one of the rebates). So I spent $150 (maybe $200, we'll see) for 3 devices and my monthly service fee to Tivo is basically $27. They all plugged in and worked out of the box (a teenager could set one up). Granted I networked mine, so that would be a barrier to some.