Uutiset 13.06.2017
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Market research company Taloustutkimus and network operator Digita piloted a new research method in the hybrid TV environment

Press Release
Digita Oy and Taloustutkimus Oy
13 June 2017


During spring 2017, Taloustutkimus and Digita have been examining the possibilities of developing new digital services and research methods. The aim of the pilot survey in the hybrid TV environment was to find out how Digita’s hybrid TV could be utilised in research. Another aim was to find out how widely hybrid TV services are already used in Finnish households and to gather user experiences of the services.

“Taloustutkimus wants to develop new ways for consumers to participate in research panels. Digita’s hybrid TV provided us with an interesting new research platform,” says Pasi Huovinen of Taloustutkimus. “We conducted the survey using our own Internet panel but, in principle, any hybrid TV owner had the opportunity to participate by registering as a panellist through a hybrid application on the Estradi TV channel,” Huovinen continues.

Big Data and the data collection methods of the new digital age have been widely discussed recently on different forums. Consumers have been worried about their privacy. “Together with Digita, we developed a new way of collecting data, where the respondents could control the data that was combined and for what period. The respondents were also informed of the use of the data in a clear and easily understandable manner,” says Huovinen. A total of 93 respondents participated in the pilot project. The respondents had a positive attitude towards the use of viewing data. The participants were mostly interested in the opportunity to take part in the development of future TV and a new research method.

“Digita’s aim is to understand consumers’ TV viewing habits better and to utilise this understanding when developing new kinds of TV services by means of extended content offering, targeting and interactivity,” says Teppo Ahonen, Director of Video Delivery Services at Digita. “This cooperation pilot allowed us to combine data from two different sources and to use the combined data to analyse the viewing habits of different kinds of households. The results help us to understand the TV viewers’ needs better and to offer not only new kinds of services but also new business opportunities for TV companies,” Ahonen continues. 

Use of hybrid TV services on the rise

The hybrid TV launched by Digita in 2015 combines the services of terrestrial TV and the Internet. A difference between Digita’s hybrid TV and smart TV is that the services provided by the hybrid TV, such as Yle Areena, Ruutu and the Finnish ice hockey league results service, are sent out with the programme flow instead of as separate applications. Hybrid TV thus allows many services to be connected to the programme flow, while also enabling interactive advertising.

From the perspective of developing new services, hybrid TV penetration is already significant, with some 150,000 devices now being connected to Digita’s network. Digita estimates that the penetration will grow to approximately one million by 2020.

 

Media contacts:

Taloustutkimus Oy, Research Director, Pasi Huovinen, pasi.huovinen@taloustutkimus.fi,
tel. + 358 40 757 7737

Digita Oy, Director, Video Delivery Services, Teppo Ahonen, teppo.ahonen@digita.fi,
tel. +358 40 563 0299

 

Taloustutkimus Oy, established in 1971, is a private owned market research company in Finland. Today we have 70 full time employees and a nationwide interviewer network with nearly 300 interviewers. In all our projects, the most experienced research specialists are assigned to carry out the surveys. Our fieldwork organization – CATI, CAPI and CAWI – use the best information technology available.

Taloustutkimus has a strong experience in international projects, both in consumer studies and business-to-business research.

Digita Oy transmits radio and television programmes to everyone living in every corner of Finland every day of the year. We also apply the latest digital technology in order to develop and offer versatile online television and radio services. In addition, our service portfolio includes comprehensive IoT services based on our nation-wide network, as well as world-class Data Centre Services. Our clients are media houses and mobile and broadband operators that provide the very best contents.