Almost half of UK consumers haven’t heard of YouView

New research from connected home specialists Twonky reveals that 49% of UK consumers have heard of connected TV service YouView.

The service, which is a joint venture between UK broadcasters the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five as well as Arqiva, BT and TalkTalk,  launched last July, having originally been slated to roll out in 2010.

The launch was backed by a nationwide advertising campaign.

Twonky noted: “Having taken four years to be released the service has been overshadowed by offerings the major UK broadcasters have developed themselves, such as Sky and Virgin Media. As a result, nearly 50% (49%) of people in the UK have not even heard of YouView.”

The Twonky survey also showed that the three main consumer bugbears with online video content are buffering, ad breaks and the perception that the content on connected services is lower quality than seen on TV.

Viewing of content on connected devices is, however, taking root. The survey results showed that 37% of respondents used second screen devices to catch up on TV shows during the Christmas period.

Furthermore, over half (51%) of consumers in the UK prefer to watch catch-up services on a TV, rather than a smartphone or tablet and only 19% of people surveyed say that convenience is more important than screen size.