With catch-up TV services becoming commonplace now, it’s probably a good time to start looking at what works and what doesn’t. The easier these services are to use, the more people will use them. Which increases viewing figures and advertising revenue.
Catch-Up TV
The U.K. now has a good range of video on demand TV services, which allow viewers to catch up on television shows they may have missed during the previous seven days, or in some cases even longer.
All of the major networks offer these services, including the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky. And there are also the third-party companies offering compilations of new and old shows, including YouTube, SeeSaw, and the MSN Video Player.
But which is best, offering users the easiest way of catching on any missed TV?
VoD Usability Study
The answer, according to user experience consultancy Webcredible, is the BBC iPlayer, which came out on top in a recent study looking at the usability of these services. The study measured six services, judging them against 10 ‘best practice usability’ guidelines.
The BBC iPlayer scored 88 percent to come top, closely followed by the STV Player (Scottish TV) on 76 percent. Demand Five came in third on 72 percent, 4oD came in fourth with 68 percent, and the ITV Player came fifth with 60 percent.
Bottom of the class was the Sky Player from BSkyB, which managed to score a paltry 55 percent. This low score was explained away by the service being the only paid-for one of those measured, with the thought being that this complicates matters.
I guess this does stand up to scrutiny, as the Sky Player has to determine what channels and what content to serve up to each individual depending on their subscriptions. Still, that doesn’t excuse a poorly-executed service.
Conclusions
Having used all of these services I’d agree with most of the findings. However, I would probably swap 4oD and Demand Five around in terms of final placings. Then again that could have more to do with content than anything else.
[Via The Telegraph]
