New FCC and Senate actions change rules for service providers in collecting consumer data

Parks Associates today announced new digital media research ahead of the TV Connect Show in London shows 59% of pay-TV subscribers in U.S. broadband households are bothered by the fact that advertisers use their personal viewing data to push personalized ads to them. The international research firm also found that nearly 40% of pay-TV subscribers worry about the safety and use of their personal data when they use an online video service, according to 360 View: Digital Media & Connected Consumers.

These concerns are likely to grow since the U.S. Senate recently passed a joint resolution allowing ISPs to sell collected consumer data without requiring opt-in consent from consumers, while the FCC voted to suspend rules regulating consumer privacy data. Additionally, Google will now allow advertisers to target YouTube ads based solely on a consumer’s search history. This practice will allow brands to push video ads to viewers who recently searched for a retail product, a specific movie trailer, or information on a television show.

“Privacy fears are a major factor in broadband consumers’ online media experiences,” said Glenn Hower, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates. “Advertisers have the most to gain by leveraging viewership data, and those advantages will only increase as they acquire more personal information such as search histories.”

According to Parks Associates research, a majority of consumers are concerned about the safety and privacy issues created by these practices, so advertisers and pay-TV providers need to be transparent about their data collection and protection of consumers’ information. These efforts are important for pay-TV providers in particular as 34% of U.S. pay-TV subscribers indicate they trust an online video service more than they trust their current pay-TV provider.

360 View: Digital Media & Connected Consumers analyzes trends in music and video consumption by platform, source, and content expenditure. It segments consumers based on their consumption habits and identifies changes in these habits over the last four years and how the relative size of each segment is changing. The research also explores OTT service subscriptions as well as current online gaming consumption figures.

TV Connect, which will be held March 28-30 in London, focuses on the evolution of the connected entertainment industry. The event brings together a unique mix of leaders in OTT TV, pay-TV, broadcast, cable, broadband, and telco, with leading technology providers.

Parks Associates will present more research findings at the 21st-annual CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference, May 23-25 in San Francisco. The conference features keynotes from Comcast, Cox Communications, Intel, and Vivint Smart Home. Registration is open, and media are invited to attend.

For more information, visit www.ParksAssociates.com. To request a meeting with Glenn Hower or specific research data, contact Holly Sprague at hsprague@gmail.com or 720-987-6614.

About Parks Associates

Parks Associates, a woman-founded and certified business, is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates provides business intelligence and research services through its proprietary methodologies developed over decades, including quarterly surveys of 10,000 internet households.

The company's expertise crosses many industries: home security and smart home, streaming video, broadband and pay-TV services, digital media and platforms, gaming, Wi-Fi and home networks, connected health, support, consumer electronics, home control systems, energy management, and tech solutions for the multi-dwelling (MDU), small-to-medium business (SMB), and commercial building markets.

Each year, Parks Associates brings thousands of leaders together for its webinars and annual events. The firm hosts the annual executive research and strategy conferences CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. https://www.parksassociates.com

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