LRG report: Cable VoD viewing rises to 62% in September

About 62 percent of digital cable subscribers have accessed video-on-demand programming in the last month, compared to 52 percent last year, according to a report from Leichtman Research Group.

LRG also found that 73 percent of all digital cable subscribers have accessed their VoD service at least once, and that 87 percent of that group has watched at least one on-demand program or movie in the last month.

The research bodes well for pay TV providers such as Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR), Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) and other MSOs that are increasing the amount of free VoD content they offer subscribers from both major broadcast networks and cable networks. With cable MSOs deploying dynamic VoD ad-insertion technology from technology vendors such as SeaChange International (Nasdaq: SEAC) and BlackArrow that allow them to deliver targeted ads to subscribers, data showing increased VoD usage could help cable MSOs and programmers drive ad revenue from free VoD platforms.

LRG's survey also found that 44 percent of TV households have at least one DVR, and that one third of DVR homes have more than one DVR. That's a significant jump from 2005, when just 8 percent of households had a DVR.

For more:
- see LRG release

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