Virgin Media has revealed that its recently-launched YouTube channel has been a hit with its TiVo customers, over half of whom regularly use the service.
Since Virgin Media re-launched the YouTube app on Channel 198 back in February, there was an immediate uptick in subscribers using the service.
Speaking at Connected TV World Summit yesterday, Ian Mecklenburgh, director consumer platforms and devices for Virgin Media said:
“When we put YouTube into a traditional grid-based EPG, there was a 20 per cent uptake in the use of youtube. That’s an interesting phenomena, actually putting something where people expect to find [a TV channel]… considering on-demand and streaming services were supposed to kill traditional TV.”
Read Recombu Digital’s guide to Virgin Media powered by TiVoMecklenburgh revealed that 56 per cent of the Virgin Media’s 1.5 million TiVo customers (840,000) regularly use the YouTube TiVo app. It’s the second most used app on Virgin Media TiVo after BBC iPlayer and on average, people stay around on the ‘channel’ for 31 minutes.
Despite Virgin Media TiVo having a YouTube app under its belt for a while, it looks like the decision to present it alongside traditional broadcast channels has paid off. Though it’s listed in the TiVo programme guide, the YouTube channel basically acts as a shortcut to a smart TV app. Eye level is buy level, as Alan Partridge might say.
We wonder if this jump in figures means we’ll see more services like 4oD and ITV Player eventually migrate to the TiVo programme guide as well.
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