1

May 2015

User Experience in television: A justification for subscription fee?

Marine Nogier

With the kind support of my master project advisor, Annette Lang

Master 2 on Short Academic Exchange

2

Greetings

During my first internship as a product marketing assistant for CANAL+, I worked on a project about digitalizing CANAL+’s offers to anticipate the launch of Netflix in France and I would like to great my managers for making me work on this exciting project and for sharing their passion for the television industry with me. I chose to dedicate my master project about how the traditional pay-tv providers such as CANAL+ should transform to compete with blossoming OTT services such as Netflix. Thus, the challenge consisted in approaching what I learnt during my internships from another angle, the research’s one. Here I would like to gratefully thank my master project advisor, Annette Lang, for coaching me throughout this project and teaching me how to conduct a research. Last but not least, I thank my close family and friends for their support and encouragement. Best regards, Marine

3

Abstract

This report questions the role of ergonomics in creating a greater user experience

through connected services such as on-demand and multi-screen. The aim of this research is to

understand how the TV customers perceive and value the enrichment of their viewing

experience with connected services. User tests on Netflix have been conducted in order to

evaluate its level of « usability ». The results reveal that the interviewees, who have different

TV consumer profiles, need a more « Netflix-like » TV experience. Even if the financial

valuation of on-demand or multi-screen services results to be limited, digitalizing the viewing

experience is strongly recommended to traditional Pay-TV providers to survive the deep

transformation of the media & entertainment industry.

4

Table of contents

Glossary (page 7)

Introduction (page 8)

1. Literature review and definition of the theoretical background (page 10)

1.1. The disembodiment of « television » (page 10) 1.1.1. Defining television as a tangible device (page 10) 1.1.2. Defining television as a flow of contents (page 11)

1.2. The rise of the active television user (page 13) 1.2.1. From the passive role… (page 13) 1.2.2. … to the active role of the viewer (page 14)

1.3. The rise of the ergonomics in the television industry (page 15)

2. Research methodology (page 19)

2.1. User Experience in television: a justification for subscription fee? (page 19) 2.2. Qualitative study: in-deep interviews and user tests (page 20)

2.2.1. The choice of a qualitative approach (page 20) 2.2.2. The selection process of the 4 interviewees-testers (page 21) 2.2.3. A two-part discussion (page 23) 2.2.4. Evaluation of the ergonomics of Netflix (page 24)

3. Results’ discussion (page 26)

3.1. The importance of the TV screen and the trend towards multi-devices (page 26) 3.2. Is TV still associated to live broadcasting? (page 27) 3.3. The success of on-demand services for movies and series (page 29) 3.4. Internet, the new medium to access television? (page 30) 3.5. The attachment to TV channels and the importance of contents (page 31) 3.6. The usability of Netflix (page 32)

5

4. Recommendations (page 35)

4.1. Rethink work organisation and partner with ergonomics specialists (page 35) 4.2. “Monetarise” and advertise the user experience (page 36) 4.3. Evaluate ergonomics value and consider it as a key indicator (page 37) 4.4. Digitalize your TV products/services (page 38)

Conclusion (page 39)

[Version without appendices]

6

Glossary

Connected TV services: Services such as on-demand, multi-screen and personal

recommendations that require Internet connexion and are accessible under the condition to

connect the TV box to the Internet box. For ADSL television, the television box and the

Internet box are automatically connected.

Ergonomics: Science of refining the design of products or services to optimize them for

human use

Over the Top (OTT)/Internet Television: Television or video service provided over the

Internet rather than via traditional distribution networks such satellite or cable. Consumers

can access OTT contents through Internet-connected devices such as computers,

smartphones or smart TVs.

Pay-tv industry in France: Television offer with monthly fees. Traditionally, 2 main

categories: the satellite Pay-TV (CANAL+, CANALSAT) and the ADSL Pay-TV

(telecom operators selling triple play package: Orange, SFR, Bouygues, Free…). The

CANAL+ Group is considered as a monopole on the satellite television’s market in

France. However, the definition of Pay-TV is nowadays evolving to include SVOD.

User Experience: According to the International Standard on Ergonomics of human

system interaction, ISO 9241-210, UX refers to a person's perceptions and responses that

result from the use of a product or service

7

VOD/SVOD/TVOD: Subscription video on demand (SVOD) refers to a service that gives

users unlimited access to a wide range of programs for a monthly flat rate. On the

contrary, with transactional video on demand (TVOD), the customer pays for each

individual video on demand program.

8

Introduction

With the rise of the Internet, the pay-tv industry has been struggling due to online

piracy. According to a 2012’s report of Enders Analysis, the number of pay-tv subscribers in

France is shrinking with a net loss of 250.000 households between 2007 and 2012. One

explanation is that the free access to contents on the web through illegal peer-to-peer networks

and streaming platforms is pulling down the value of TV contents. In this context, contents

seem not longer a source of differentiation for pay-tv actors.

Thus, if contents are losing value, what makes sense to justify pay-tv fee?

While the rise of digital era has paved the way for Internet Television, online streaming

platforms with subscription such as Netflix are gaining market shares over traditional pay-tv

providers. Due to the media chronology, movies are available on SVOD 36 months after their

release at the cinema. Although the contents are not as new as the ones reachable through

piracy, Netflix has managed to reach about 500.000 new subscribers in France over the 6 last

months. While the press highlights the user-friendly interface provided by Netflix, the

ergonomics of the platform seems to be a strong selling argument.

Consequently, my research question is: Can the user experience provided through connected

services be a significant driver of subscriptions for traditional pay-tv providers? In other

words I would like to identify the value perceived by the viewer when interacting with OTT

platform in comparison to his/her actual TV service.

As there are no previous studies dealing with this subject, the approach is an open debate.

A qualitative study has been conducted to analyse the user experience because ergonomics is a

9

socially situated subject. Using ergonomics research’s methods such as user test aims at

qualitatively understanding people’s perspectives and motivations during viewing activity.

10

1. Literature review and definition of the theoretical background

1.1. The disembodiment of “television”

According to Oxford dictionary1, television is both “a device with a screen for receiving

television signals” and “a system for converting visual images (with sound) into electrical

signals, transmitting them by radio or other means, and displaying them electronically on a

screen”. This definition reveals two complementary aspects of “television”: it can be

approached as a device and as a flow of contents.

1.1.1. Defining television as a tangible device

In France, the democratization of television as a standard household furniture

happened in the mid-sixties, with more than 50% of the French households equipped with a

TV set in 1965. Empirically, the device approach of television implies a sedentary and

collective activity. During years, television has been seen as the typical example for sedentary

occupation. Nowadays, we might better refer to it as the home computer usage. Television

used to have a central stage in the living or dining room, that is to say a given and unique

location. Every household member used to watch the same program at a given time. The

national audience used to be concentrated during the evening prime time, from 20h to 22h.

The lack of flexibility - except “zapping” with the remote control – provokes a passive

viewing experience: in his book La télé, l’histoire en direct (2010), Emmanuel Hoog2

retrospectively refers to the television as a familiar item of daily life, standing in all French

households’ living rooms.

1 Online dictionary, http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/television 2 Emmanuel Hoog is the actual CEO of the Agence France-Presse.

11

While the equipment rate was rising, the number of television sets per household started to

significantly increase. In 2012, 98% of French households owned at least one television3 and

50,3% of them were TV multi-equipped (at least two operational TV sets) 3. The multi-

equipment in TV sets has led to an individualization of the viewing experience. To a certain

extent, it has put an end to the collective activity described in the former paragraph.

1.1.2. Defining television as a flow of contents

The multiplication of screens, such as computers, smartphones and tablets has

accelerated the process of individualization in watching TV contents. Thanks to those devices,

television consumption has become more personal and more mobile. In 2012, the average

number of digital devices’ screens is 6,5 per household3, two more screens compared with

2009. Television as a flow of contents is spreading on the Internet. The latest has become a

new broadcasting channel. For the first time, the multi-equipment rate in television started to

decrease in 2009 from 54% to 50,3% in 2012 while the tablets were penetrating the French

households’ market. The television as a device seems to be replaced by a multitude of mobile

connected devices.

Due to the emergence of the Internet as a dominant media, some well-know influencers of the

media industry (Chétrit, 2014; Hoog, 2010; Missika, 2006) forecast the end of television.

While television gets untied to the TV set, Emmanuel Hoog wonders if the flow of videos on

the Internet can be considered as television (La télé, l’histoire en direct, 2010). According to

him, television is living a deep transformation with digitalization; but despite this 3 Médiamétrie and GfK France, 2012

12

phenomenon, it remains faithful to its primary role of informing and entertaining people. TV

channels have digitized their offer by launching their own mobile application and their own

online platform where the viewer can find TV programs in streaming. In 2013, France

Télévision and CANAL+ launched mobile applications, respectively called Pluzz and My

CANAL, which consist in a multi-screen service with an on-demand access to some of their

TV shows.

With the rise of the digital era and the multiplication of screens, the definition of television

expands (in reference to the Oxford definition quoted earlier). This new definition implies

new usages that are more interactive, instantaneous and more flexible. The television is going

“out of the box”. New services purely digital, called Internet TV, such as Netflix or Canal

Play (Canal+ Group) are gaining market shares.

However, according to the latest Médiamétrie study, more than half of the French people

(51.9%)4 declare that the television set is still their favourite screen due to the comfort in the

viewing experience it offers and due to its power to gather people around a same program

such as the FIFA World Cup. This study also confirms that television is still alive and

especially through the engagement of the viewer. Indeed, nowadays, television is able to

deliver a stronger viewing experience, with a better image resolution (HD, 4K), the innovation

of the 3D screen and the growing size of the screen. These innovations change the role of

television in people’s everyday life. While the Internet is now the medium that brings the

news and entertainment into French households (or their pocket), the television set is now the

device that brings cinema experience into people’s house. The challenge for entertainment –

4 L’année TV 2014: Un téléspectateur multi-connecté et engagé, Médiamétrie, 28/01/2015  

13

especially sport and movies - is more relevant than ever for TV screens, which are actually

competing with movie theatres and football stadiums.

1.2. The rise of the active television user

With technological evolutions, such as digitalization and screens’ multiplication, the status

of audience has changed from a passive role to an active one.

1.2.1. From the passive role...

The French philosopher Montaigne used harsh words to define the spectator as “the

one who is the witness of an action”, in opposition to “the one who takes action” (Essais,

1580). This binary approach divides the world between those who watch and those who act. If

we translate this statement to the television industry, the passivity of the viewer was due to the

restrictive number of channels available, especially before the launch of the cable television in

1985, and due to the linear programming to which the viewer has to adapt. In other words, the

viewer was prisoner of television scheduling for a TV show broadcasted at a given time in a

given place, usually the household’s living room. Television was seen as a “societal” tool and

contents characterized by their potential to be diffused to the society at large scale. The French

sociologist Jean-Louis Missika5 explains in his book the on-going disappearance of television

by approaching the relationship between the television and the viewer (La fin de la télévision,

2006). He describes the history of television composed of the 3 periods established by

Umberto Eco: paleo-television, neo-television and post-television. In the paleo-television

period, the television as a generator of informative messages is at the centre of the viewer’s

attention. 5 Jean-Louis Missika is a French sociologist and a political advisor.

14

1.2.2. ... to the active role of the viewer

While entering into the digital era, television medium has become more and more

interpersonal and interactive. Jean-Louis Missika explains this evolution due to the social

phenomenon of “the narcissistic affirmation of the individual identity”. According to him,

television plays an “auto-referential” role respectively to the viewer and there is a switch of

roles between “those who speak” and “those who listen”. Giving a more open-minded

approach to this transformation, the expression mass self-communication6 coined by Manuel

Castells (Communication Power, 2009) corroborates the idea of the birth of the “active

viewer”. Thanks to the Internet, a medium (television, press, radio etc.) can address a global

audience (mass) and at the same time, it can include more personalization with self-generated,

self-directed and self-selected messages (self). While the TV industry remains a mass medium

from the distributor’s point of view, the viewing experience from a customer’s perspective is

moving to mass-self communication. Innovative services such as catch-up service and

recommendation algorithm give a greater control to the viewer on his TV experience. In

addition, the development of mass self-communication allows each citizen to build his own

review of the information he considers relevant. Giving its opinion liberates the viewer from

its passive status. This phenomenon gets bigger with social media. It offers an instantaneous

communication tool to express oneself. Thus, the spectator becomes “actor”, and he is put at

the centre of the process. Thus, the “passive” status has been widely challenged since the

emergence of new interactive services (access to social media, VOD, multi-screens).

6 Manuel Castells is a Spanish sociologist especially associated with research on the

information society, communication and globalization.

15

Furthermore, Catherine Guéneau7 corroborates this idea when talking about the

« interacteur » - interactive spectator (Du spectateur à l’interacteur, 2006). From her point of

view, the passive role of the spectator is no longer relevant due to the rise of a new form of

interactive communication. According to Catherine Guéneau, the viewer is nowadays taking

his/her revenge on the “media’s manipulation”. Digitalization has led to change the role of the

viewer through a greater interactivity and the rise of a personalized experience. More

generally, digital era has put the viewer at the centre of the attention and makes him/her an

active user of television. Therefore, the transformation of each individual viewer in an

“interacteur” will depend of the number of devices used and the possibility to access to on-

demand services and social media. In addition, supporting the same vision, Reed Hastings,

Netflix CEO, claims that “television through Internet gives the control to the consumer”

(Netflix Long Term view report, 2014) and explains that the consumer gets huge benefits from

the Internet television, in terms of convenience, control, selection, and price.

1.3. The rise of the ergonomics concern in television industry

According to the International Ergonomics Association8, ergonomics is “the scientific

discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements

of a system, in order to optimize human wellbeing and overall system performance”.

Ergonomics puts the user experience (UX) at the centre of the product development. This 7 Catherine Guéneau is a researcher in movies and digital industries and a film director.

8 The International Ergonomics Association or IEA is a federation of forty-two individual

ergonomics organizations from around the world. Its mission is to elaborate and advance

ergonomics science and practice, and to improve the quality of life by expanding its scope of

application and contribution to society.

16

user-centric approach is a growing concern for companies in all fields due to the changing role

of the consumer, who has become more “engaged”.

There is very little documentation that links Ergonomics and Television. But there is lot of

information regarding Ergonomics and Digital. Therefore, with the digitalization of television,

the targeted subject can be approached.

Whereas technologies are supposed to make our lives easier, it can bring sometimes

complexity. For instance, satellite television such as CANALSAT (CANAL+ Group) requires

to the installation of an outdoor parabolic antenna to receive the satellite signals. In order to

access “smart services”, such as on-demand, the subscriber needs to connect the set-top box

with the Internet box. This process is too complex for the user, and few of the satellite

subscribers of CANALSAT have connected their television to access on-demand services.

This example underlines the need for an easy and fluid user experience for the user. Besides,

understanding the viewer interaction with the broadcasting system (technology, equipment) is

necessary to simplify and improve the user experience. With the Internet, the user experience

is more fluid: over-the-top (OTT) videos are delivered over the Internet without the

involvement of a multiple-system operator in the control or distribution of the content and

provide a multi-devices streamlined experience.

17

Figure 1: The path to access contents (Enders Analysis, 2012)

Ergonomics is a key element to make a product or a service successful. The example for

Apple who manages to bring people with low education in technology to use an iPhone thanks

to its ergonomics operating system (iOS) can be enlightening. Thanks to the usability of their

smartphone, Apple transformed a high-tech product into a mass-market one. Ergonomics is

also a strong factor of loyalty as it improves the customer satisfaction9.

The usefulness of a product/service is characterized by two different but complementary

approaches: the utility and the usability. On the one hand, utility is “the (perceived) ability of

something to satisfy needs or wants”. On the other hand usability is “the ease of use of

9 Ergonomie des Interfaces: Guide pratique pour la conception des applications web, Jean-

François Nogier, Thierry Bouillot et Jules Leclerc, 5ème édition, parue chez Dunot, 2013

18

something”10. To underline the importance of utility, the consultant specialist in ergonomics

of web interfaces, Jean-François Nogier, gives the following example about scuba diving

activity. The diving suit and the wetsuit have the same usage that allows human being to go

under water. However, the diving suit has a low usability. Therefore, for two products of a

same utility, the product with the greater usability is the one that will “survive” in the market

place, as reveals the disappearance of the diving suit and the success of the wetsuit.

In this report, we will study the television through ergonomics. In other words, we will

analyse the human behaviour during the viewing activity, which has been transformed due to

the disembodiment of television and the rise of an active television viewer, as described

earlier. To do so, we will use the norm ISO 9241-210 about ergonomics of human-system

interaction as a reference11. This norm defines user experience as “a person’s perceptions and

responses that result from the use of a product, system or service”. This norm says that a

system is usable when it allows the user to carry out a task with efficacy, efficiency and

satisfaction.

In our research, we will focus on those 3 factors to determine the usability of the new forms of

television, that is to say OTT platforms such as Netflix.

10 Usability 101: Introduction to usability, Jakob Nielsen, 2012

11 Ergonomics of Human System Interaction, Norm ISO 9241

19

3. Research methodology

3.1. User Experience in television: a justification for subscription fee?

Internet television has transformed the concept of television with the “fluidizing” of TV

contents across devices and the larger control of the viewer. At the same time, ergonomics

concern has become more important and conveys a greater focus on the user experience of the

viewer. Ergonomics in television is commonly associated with hardware such as TV screen

and remote control. Beyond hardware, the growing importance of ergonomics in TV manifests

itself through connected services, that-is-to-say on-demand, multi-screen services and

customized recommendations. However, the relation doesn’t mean that all connected services

are user-friendly. Their usability level will be challenged with user tests.

In addition to low subscription fees and easy access, connected TV services seem to be one of

the main competitive advantages of OTT services comparing to traditional Pay-TV actors.

Considering a shift in balance where the churn rate is increasing for traditional Pay-TV actors

while the number of subscriptions of OTT services is rising, it seems to me relevant to

challenge the role of ergonomics in this trend. Consequently, I would like to identify the value

perceived by the viewer when interacting with OTT platform in comparison to his/her actual

TV service. As a result, my hypothesis is the following: “the subscription fee for a TV

service can be justified by a greater user experience provided through connected

services”.

20

This hypothesis challenges the fact that ergonomics is a science apart from business

performance. Generally speaking, ergonomics is considered as a “plus” and not as a strategic

driver of revenue.

Comparing traditional Pay-TV actors with OTT players, I would like to highlight the fact that

both services are first of all content providers. Freshness of contents is a strong argument for

online piracy. Regarding the legal side, the freshness of movies is more attractive on Pay-TV

(10-12 months) than SVOD platforms (36 months) due to the French chronology of media12.

Therefore, the freshness of contents doesn’t seem to be the explanation for Internet SVOD

platforms’ success and my research challenges the idea that “only contents are necessary to

create value and justify the TV subscriptions fees”.

3.2. Qualitative study: in-deep interviews and user tests

3.2.1. The choice of a qualitative approach

There are no previous studies dealing with the chosen topic of “User Experience in

television as a justification for subscription fees”. Therefore, this subject is approached as an

open debate, and open questions are asked to the interviewees during the ground research.

12 « L'accord du 6 juillet 2009 relatif à la chronologie des médias», CSA. The French

chronology of media concerns cinematographic works and regulates the time between the

national coming out date in room and the first diffusion on television in order to protect the

screening in movies theatres. This regulation doesn’t impact TV series, TV shows or

documentaries.

21

Besides, a qualitative study suits best to analyse the user experience because ergonomics is a

socially situated subject, and not a statistically situated one. Using ergonomics research’s

methods, I seek to understand qualitatively people’s perspectives and motivations during

viewing activity. Small sized samples are studied (4 interviewees). In fact, I am not seeking to

statistically generalize the findings, as it would have been possible with quantitative study; but

I am seeking to get people’s insights.

Two typical forms of qualitative studies are carried out during the meeting with the

interviewees: firstly, an in deep interview about their TV consumption and secondly, a user

test on Netflix.

3.2.2. The selection process of the 4 interviewees-testers

In order to carry out a qualitative study, I choose to focus on a small number of people.

As mentioned previously, the aim is not to get statistical results but client’s insights and

verbatim. The 4 testers will be carefully chosen as referring to prototype of TV consumers. In

order to do so, I am referring to a 2013’s BVA study13 that identifies and draws a

segmentation of various groups of Pay-TV subscribers.

This segmentation stresses 5 relevant groups of viewers:

• The traditional family (Group 1 illustrated by Interview 1):

They refer to the upper socioeconomic class. They usually pay for a triple-play offer for

home phone + television + Internet. They are well equipped with smartphones and tablets. 13 « Segmentation des consommateurs de télévision payante », BVA report for CANAL+,

2013

22

They appreciate and fell comfortable with new technologies. Each member of the family

has her/his preferred program. On average, they represent a household of 3 to 5 people,

with 2 adults and 1 to 3 children. The children are likely to be “digital natives”. They need

a large choice of thematic channels, but without neglecting the quality of content.

• The disconnected seniors (Group 2 illustrated by Interview 1):

They are +60 years old. Most of them have satellite television. They watch mostly news,

entertainment shows and movies. Even if they have Internet at home, they don’t really use

it and feel overtaken by technologies. They mostly rely on their children to help them with

new technologies. They are moderately equipped with television and mobile phones. If

they have a smartphones, they are likely to have basic usages (call, text messages) but not

multimedia ones (video and audio streaming). Very few of them have a tablet.

• The digital natives14 (Group 3, illustrated by Interview 3):

Born in the digital era, they are between 15-25 years old. They use intensively and

naturally new technologies (Internet, computers and mobile devices) from an early age.

Internet is part of their life from social, educational, economical and commercial points of

view. Therefore, they are permanently connected. Even if most of them are not financially

independent, they are multi-equipped with smartphones and laptops. Because of their low

purchase power and their ease with new technologies, they are important users of P2P

networks and streaming platforms to access, for instance, to the latest episode of their

favourite series. They are big series consumers. 14 On the Horizon, Chapter 1 « Digital natives, digital immigrants », by Marc Prensky,

Editions MCB University Press, October 2001

23

• The football fans (Group 4 illustrated by Interview 4):

They are fervent supporters of a football team and sport is the main driver of subscription

to satellite television. They mostly watch sport channels on the match days in direct. The

match day is a social event shared with friends. They also watch TV shows that analyse

the matches on their TV or the Internet (sport magazines or sport channels’ websites).

They are usually well equipped with a large flat TV screen in order to watch the game in

the best conditions.

• The TV addicts (Group 5):

Also called TV-aholic, their television is always on and they watch it a lot, any time of the

day. They watch any kind of contents from sport to movie and TV shows and generalist

programs. Most of them are multi-equipped in television, with at least one television in

their living room and one in the room. This segment is evolving with the growing

importance of online videos.

For my ground research, I am conscious that none of the chosen testers can be perfectly

considered as a reference consumer for each given segment. But, the habits of the chosen

testers fit well with the description from the segmentation. To find a tester that would fit into a

segment, I questioned them firstly to get a big picture of their viewing habit.

3.2.3. A two-part discussion

24

The discussion with the interviewee is made of 2 complementary parts, both referring

to qualitative method.15

First, the conversation consists in an in deep interview about TV usages of the interviewee.

The interview takes place at the interviewee’s place. The advantage is that the interviewee

feels more comfortable to share her/his experience when they are interviewed in the

environment of their viewing activity. The aim is to understand the user’s insight. Therefore,

it is not an enquiry with closed questions. The interview lasts about forty-five to sixty minutes

and the audio is registered.

While the first part gives a good understanding of the interviewee’s viewing experience based

on self-reported information, the second part puts the interviewee in real situation of

television’s usages. In fact, a usability test of Netflix is conducted in order to evaluate the

importance of ergonomics and how the user perceives it. I chose to test Netflix for being a

new service in France (available in France since September 2014) and for being considered in

the digital sphere as a reference in term of user-friendly interface.

3.2.4. Evaluation of the ergonomics of Netflix

The user test, also called “usability test”, helps to evaluate the ergonomics of a subject,

here an Internet TV platform. It permits to observe directly the way user uses the platform so

as to identify the difficulties of usage he can face, based on her/his actions and her/his

15 In annexe (Annexe 2), please find the questionnaire for the interviews. The conversions

were not limited to this script; it was a support tool.

25

declarations. This approach highlights user issues and gives tangible answers for product

designers.

The usability test replies to the following question: “what is the level of usability of Netflix?”

Referring to the norm ISO 9241-11, a system is usable when the user can realize a task

(efficacy), when it requires a minimum of resources for the realization (efficiency) and when

it is pleasant to use (satisfaction).

Therefore, to evaluate the usability of Netflix, these 3 main criteria are checked out

responding to the following questions:

1. Do the tester complete the task?

2. Do the tester complete the task easily? (by referring to number of clicks required)

3. Do the tester declare her/himself “satisfy”?

I segment the Netflix’s experience into various tasks such as “Access to a personal account”,

“Change the language and the subtitles of the movie played” or “Switch device and watch a

movie on your smartphone”. Each task is tested accordingly to the 3 reference criteria

(“efficacy”, “efficiency”, “satisfaction”).

At least but not last, after the usability test, the interviewee is questioned about his potential

willing to subscribe. The price for a Netflix subscription is presented in order to understand if

there is a link between the willing to pay and the usability of the product.

26

3. Results’ discussion

First of all, two groups can be identified within the sample: the “tech-savvy” profiles

and the “tech-novice” ones. The “tech-savvy” group gathers Group 3 (“digital natives”) and

Group 4 (“football fans”)16. They use new technologies on a daily basis; they are computer-

literate and instinctively browse on the Web. On the other hand, the “tech-novice” group

comprises Group 1 (“disconnected seniors”) and Group 4 (“traditional families”). They are

less attracted by innovation and they have limited knowledge of new technologies. Within this

group, it is important to stress the gap between the “disconnected senior” profile and the

“traditional family” one: the former are much more reluctant to digital innovations; by

contrast, the latter can benefit from the assistance of their children who provide them a sort of

“digital learning”.

3.1 The importance of the TV screen and the trend towards multi-devices

All interviewees have a flat TV screen, expect for the “digital native” (Interview 3).

They particularly enjoy the comfort it offers in terms of image, and they value its “social

dimension”, as it allows numerous individuals to gather in front of one single screen. The

“football fan” profile is the one that gives the most importance to the quality and size of the

TV screen in order to re-create the ambiance of the match as if I was right in the stadium (“Ça

recrée l’ambiance du stade de foot, comme si j’y étais!”) (Interview 4).

16 The “football fan” profile and the “digital native” one are both part of the Generation Y.

The “football fan” profile could have been also clustered as a « digital native » for this study.

27

In the sample of this study, only the “tech-savvy” individuals use their laptop as television.

The “digital native” uses her laptop as her main screen for watching streaming video

(Youtube, filmotv, Popcorn Time). She declared: My laptop is my television (“Mon ordinateur,

c’est ma télé”) (Interview 3). The first raison is economical - but it is also a matter of habit.

She doesn’t miss television: When I need a big screen for an action movie for instance, I

often chose to go to the movie theater (“Si je veux voir un film sur grand écran, comme un

film d’action par exemple, je vais aller choisir d’aller au cinema”) (Interview 3). On the other

hand, for the “football fan”, using his laptop to watch a sport match is not a choice but a

constraint: I only use my laptop when I am not at home, with no access to my TV screen

(“J’utilise mon ordinateur quand je ne suis pas chez moi, et donc sans ma télé”) (Interview 4).

Regarding the other screens, only the “digital native” among the sample declares to watch

sometimes TV shows on her smartphone. Last but not least, the mother of the “traditional

family” expresses some worries regarding multi-screen offers, saying: TV is a family

experience, and I am afraid that individual screens would break the social dimension of TV

and its capacity to gather people (“Regarder la television est un moment familial et j’ai peur

que les smartphones et les tablettes cassent cette dimension fédératrice de la télé”) (Interview

1).

3.2 Is TV still associated to live broadcasting?

When asking to the interviewees which words they associate to television, the

elements that come out spontaneously and from all types of profiles are “live”, “channels”,

“information” and “movies”. This first approach reveals that TV is (still) associated in

28

people’s mind to “live” broadcasting and that “live” broadcasting is associated to TV

“channels”.

Responding to this introductive question, people mention entertainment “events” (“live sport”,

“TV show games”) which they associate to live broadcasting (Interview 2, Interview 4).

“Events” refer to special occasions of a certain importance for the viewer; for instance, the

Paris-Saint-Germain game on CANAL+ or the latest episode of MasterChef on TF1. The

viewer17 adapts her/his agenda to the scheduled time, not under constraint but out of a choice:

Replay? No way, I don’t want to get the match’s results on my smartphone before I can see

the goals! (“Le replay? C’est mort, je ne veux pas risquer de recevoir avant le résultat du

match sur mon smartphone avant d’avoir vu les buts!”) (Interview 4). The viewer adapts not

only her/his time but also her/his environment for live events’ viewing. For instance, to create

a good environment, the “football fan” usually watches the game in front of his brand new flat

TV screen with friends.

From the point of view of the “disconnected senior” interviewee, the sound of channels

constitutes a suitable background for lonely people. Even if the viewer is not watching any

programme, the TV is not turned off: My TV is switched on from 5pm to 10pm and also

during lunch time (“Je laisse ma television allumée à partir de 17h et jusqu’à ce que je me

couche, je l’allume aussi lorsque je déjeune”) (Interview 2). The fact is that live television

requires no action from the viewer and encourages multi-tasking such as ironing or cooking

while watching TV.

17 I am referring to the “football fan” interviewee and “disconnected senior” one.

29

3.3 The success of on-demand services for movies and series

On-demand services are getting more popular; even “tech-novice” profiles are starting

using it. This innovative way of watching TV programmes seems better suitable to daily life

of the viewer. The mother of the “traditional family” group said: New technologies help to

combine a busy life with leisure; and on-demand TV is much more convenient than linear

television (“Les nouvelles technologies aident à mieux s’organiser quand on a un emploi du

temps chargé; et dans ce sens la télévision à la demande est plus pratique que la télévision

linéaire”) (Interview 1). Therefore, using regularly CANALSAT on demand service, she

identifies clearly the benefits she gets from this innovation. The “disconnected senior”

interviewee also identifies the benefits of on-demand during the test because it is more

convenient than using the TV programming magazine that she is used to: The way of

searching and watching TV shows seems easier: no need to get out in order to buy the TV

magazine in the shop, and then to to skim through itto decide which contents I will watch.

(“La façon de chercher un programme me semble plus simple. Pas besoin d’aller acheter le

programme télé au kiosque à journal et le feuilleter en attendant de trouver le bon

programme.) (Interview 2).

Moreover, the viewer has a greater control on her/his viewing experience in the sense that

she/he can access programs whenever and wherever she/he wants. But, according to the

“digital native” interviewee, the possibility to watch content without connexion, especially for

the subway, is missing in Netflix’s offer. While the viewer could feel lost facing the large

number of programmes available, different tools help to facilitate the selection of the right

program with recommendation system.

30

However, on-demand viewing is not adapted to all types of programs but mainly for movies,

TV series or documentaries. For instance, the “football fan” profile always watches sport

games on live and he always uses on demand to watch a movie:

3.4 Internet, the new medium to access television?

It is interesting to see that Internet is associated to a certain extend to television. First

of all, Internet is linked to television usage because it is used as a programming information

tool. Only the “disconnected senior” profile still buys the TV magazine called Tele Z to get

information about what’s on TV.

In people’s mind, television fee also seems to be associated to television. In fact, when

answering the question “do you pay for TV?”, the interviewees mentioned their Internet

monthly subscription. This can be explained by the development of triple-play offers

(Television/Home phone/Internet box) and by the digital convergence (access online to TV

contents).

What’s more, in case of a satellite or cable TV subscription, an Internet connexion is needed

to access connected services such as on demand. The subscriber has to connect the TV

decoder to the Internet box.

Last but not least, with the digital convergence, Internet is a new point of access to TV

contents. For instance, the digital native generation use a lot streaming video. A more reliable

Internet connection justifies higher fees. The “digital native” profile said: A poor connection

deteriorates my streaming experience, it makes it more time-consuming, and it eventually

31

really upsets me! (“Une mauvaise connexion Internet détériore mes moments de visionnage en

streaming, ça prend plus de temps et ça m’énerve!”) (Interview 3)

3.5 The attachment to TV channels and the importance of contents

According to the qualitative study, I identified2 new clusters: TV viewers who care

about TV channels, and those attached to contents itself, disregarding broadcasting channels.

To the question “what do you watch on television?”, the “disconnected senior” replied My

favourite channels are France 2 and France 3 (“Mes chaînes préférées sont France 2 et

France3”) (Interview 2). In fact, the elder generation is attached out of habits to the TV

channels whose brand identity is based on a clearly identifiable programming, especially for

well-established mainstream channels such as France 2 and France 3. She further explained: I

try to never miss a TV show of Questions pour un Champion on France 3 channel” (“J’essaye

de ne jamais râter une émission de Question pour un Champion sur France 3”) (Interview 2).

While discovering the platform Netflix, the elder lady recognized not to be able to truly grasp

the aim of such website, as she could see it was not associated to any TV channel. .

Besides, people with specific interests or passions prefer thematic channels and are more

likely to pay for it. In the panel of this study, I identified two interesting profiles. The mother

of the “traditional family”, who is very fond of classic music, was looking for premium

contents when she decided to subscribe to CANALSAT. She therefore consented to pay an

extra fee for to access the classical music channel Mezzo18. Secondly, the “football fan”

profile explained that he chose to subscribe to CANAL+ to get access to CANALl+ and 18 The subscription represents a total monthly fee of 30€.

32

CANAL+ Sport channels, which have broadcasting right for the football championships such

as the Ligue 1, whose broadcasting rights are not accessible to free mainstream TV channels.

In those cases, the passion is the main reason behind TV subscription.

The new generation, represented by the “digital native” interviewee, does not seem to be

willing to get attached to a particular TV channel like it is the case for elder generations.

Instead, younger individuals seem more concerned about the content itself. The “digital

native” interviewee for instance declared that what matters the most to her is the possibility of

personalizing her own programming. Through online streaming platforms and illegal peer-to-

peer downloading, younger generations access to brand new movies and freshly broadcasted

TV series. For this reason, the “tech-savvy” profiles are disappointed regarding the Netflix

catalogue available in France and criticized the obsolescence of the contents (due to the

French media chronology19). They also vigorously criticised the fact that one cannot have an

overview of Netflix catalogue before subscribing to it, which creates great frustration

afterwards. Thus, large and easily accessible catalogue as well as updated and recent content

are key drivers for individuals to subscribe to an offer such as Netflix.

3.6 The usability of Netflix

It is worth mentioning that the tests were conducted with the French version of Netflix.

The UX of Netflix has been commented quite a lot in the tech word based on the US version.

The main difference between the French and the US apps reside in how recent and updated is

the content.

19 See Annex 4

33

Generally speaking, the sampled users have appreciated the service. They used words such as

“convenient”, “and “intuitive”20 to describe their experience on Netflix.

The “techno-savvy” group, who intuitively browse on the Web, appreciates the fact that

Netflix is easy to handle. They noted a genuine fluidity between devises (from the laptop to

the smartphone and from the smartphone to the laptop) and they found the interface of Netflix

very instinctive the “digital native” profile said: I do admit that the interface of this app is

great as compare to free streaming or downloading platforms (“Je dois admettre que

l’interface est bonne, surtout compare à celles des sites que j’utilise en streaming ou

téléchargement”) (Interview 3). However, being familiar with new technologies, they are also

much more exigent. Looking at the results of the users’ survey21, we can see that they are less

satisfied than the rest of the sample. They appreciate the fact that all sorts of content is

available within one single platform, but they are very critical regarding the limited amount of

brand new programs in the catalogue, which seem to negatively affect their viewing

experience. They noted that illegal downloading or streaming platforms offer much more

newer content. They also compared the usability of Netflix’s interface to the one of a new and

free app called Popcorn Time22 (“Why would I pay for Netflix when I can access to all the

latest movies on Popcorn Time? The interface of Popcorn Time is great, it is free and the

contents are new” the “digital native” said).

20 All verbatims from the qualitative studies have been translated from French to English.

21 See Annex 3

22 This app infringes the Hadopi low as a platform of torrent’s stream and is not complying

with copyright management

34

On the other hand, the “tech-novice” group are very satisfied with the service tested. They

seemed almost impressed and appeared less critical than the technologically savvy group. This

can be explained by the fact that they have fewer other references in terms of digital

application. Therefore, they were positively surprised by the new opportunities offered by

Netflix. They found the application “easy to use” even if they faced difficulties to complete all

the tasks submitted to them as part of the user test. To explain this paradox, they simply said

that they needed more practice to fully appropriate the tool. However, in addition to habits, a

major constrain is that “tech-novices” are not fully technologically equipped.

35

4. Recommendations

The aim of the part is to give explicit recommendations to the traditional TV distributors

about how to value the user experience delivered to their customers.

4.1 Rethink work organisation and partner with ergonomics specialists

Up to date, jobs concerned with ergonomics are the equipment designers (decoder, remote

control) and the developers (TV interface, website, mobile applications). While user

experience impacts positively the viewer satisfaction, it is necessary to considerate

ergonomics as a marketing stake and encourages interactions between marketers, designers

and developers. Nowadays, there is a lack of communication between these stakeholders. I

recommend TV companies working with a UX project manager in charge of connecting

business strategies down to UX activities and vice-versa.

According to some interviewed product managers at CANALSAT, it is wrong to think that

creating a user-friendly service just needs common sense. However, granting budget for

ergonomics purpose such as user tests is not a priority for their management. A lack of

knowledge and a lack of budget explain this misconception about ergonomics. My

recommendation is that management get conscious of the importance of user experience and

permit marketers to work with user experience specialists.

4.1 “Moniterise” and advertise the user experience

I recommend considering user experience as a real marketing stake. Therefore, pricing and

promotion strategies are required.

36

The chosen price for connected services depends of the price elasticity of the viewer for each

service. My recommendation for on-demand service is to include it for free to the TV

subscription as the customer already pays for the contents. Regarding multi-devices, the

gradual pricing system used by Netflix is well perceived by the customers and I advise for it.

In fact, the less equipped in term of devices don’t want to pay for extra devices they won’t

use. Last but not least, the recommendation service is seen as a gadget for the customer. It

should be included for free because customers are not ready to pay for it as an added option.

Besides, advertising about connected services permits to give to the customers a modern and

innovative image of the Pay-TV company, especially multi-devices service. The campaigns

should highlight the client’s benefits in situation; for instance in CANAL Play promotion, the

tagline is Your movies and series, even in the subway (“Vos films et séries, meme dans le

métro”). However, to catch the audience attention, advertise with key contents (movies, TV

series, sport) is essential.

4.2 Evaluate ergonomics value and consider it as a key indicator

Considering ergonomics as a driver of revenue means, it should be included into the

business plan of digital projects such as the launch of an online player or the creation of TV

channel’s mobile application. Up to date, beyond the audience rate, the main KPIs (Key

Performance Indicators) tracked for these projects are the viewer satisfaction (from surveys),

the usages (number of views, number of clicks). I recommend adding the usability to this list.

37

It can be evaluating by implementing user tests and focus groups. It is valuable for the

following reasons: increasing the viewer satisfaction, decreasing the churn rate, dropping calls

to customer service and saving money on technical costs. In fact, usability increases

satisfaction of the customer thanks to user-friendly products. It impacts positively the

customer loyalty and the churn rate while customer retention is a real challenge for Pay-TV

industry. Then, if TV service is easier to use, there will be less calls to the customer service.

At last but not least, digitalisation reduces technical costs; for instance, no decoder is needed

but only an Internet box.

4.3 Digitalize your TV products/services

Creating a customised and fluid TV experience as the customers expect is possible thanks

to digitalization.

The first step for traditional TV distributors is to develop and improve existing connected

services such as on-demand, recommendation and multi-devices. For instance, TV companies

are prospecting to create linear channel made by the viewer from on-demand contents. In

other word, the “active viewer” would select contents in an on-demand catalogue and then

creates her/his own liner channel. This new interaction model is under consideration in the TV

industry (CANAL+, ORANGE, etc…) but it raises important transformation in term of work

organization and would impact the role of programming and planning teams.

The second step is to “go online”. First, launching an online player is crucial because more

and more people watch videos on their laptop especially digital natives and digital

immigrants. I recommend adopting a freemium strategy – that is to say some contents are

38

accessible for free while for the rest of the catalogue the “netizen” has to pay subscription fee.

The idea is that if the service tested for free has a good level of usability, the viewer is more

likely to pay the access to the full service. On the other hand, mobile app is a key asset for TV

company but I recommend to enhance this service with download-to-go to offer a full

portability of contents (even out of connexions).

39

Conclusion

Throughout this master project, the importance of including ergonomics thinking in pay-tv

service has been highlighted. The qualitative study has confirmed the need expressed by the

viewers for a better comfort of viewing. In fact, used to digital era, TV consumers are looking

for more mobile and fluid experiences. This evolution urges traditional TV companies to

adapt both its services and its working process. While the digitalization of TV offers has

already started with, for instance, the launch by CANAL+ of its OTT platform CANAL Play,

there is still a lot to do to change the way of working and in order to place the User and its

experience at the centre of management strategy rather than the Customer and its “wallet”.

Empowering the viewer experience is all the more so important as the competition online is

becoming harsher and Pay-TV operators are losing subscribers to legal OTT platforms and

illegal streaming networks’ advantage. Better ergonomics in Pay-TV offers is confirmed

through this master project’s study to be a tool of client retention by increasing their

satisfaction and their attachment to their TV service. At the same time, it is a strong argument

to glamorize the image of traditional TV products and reach new clients.

However, it is important to underline the limits to these changes due to the protection of

traditional distribution model by the French broadcasting regulatory body (CSA). In addition,

the strategy of digitalizing offers exposes TV companies to online piracy and a competitive

environment with low barriers to entry. From the viewer’s point of view, it is also complicated

to evaluate clearly the added value of ergonomics because her/his experience is deeply linked

to the contents. Therefore, my latest recommendation for Pay-TV industry is to bear in mind

the importance of contents production to reach clear differentiation, following the example of

40

Netflix and its successful original productions (House of cards, Orange is the new back…).

Finally, the viewing experience should be considered as a whole where a framework of user-

friendly services empowers TV contents.