I'm off to a Media Research Group meeting this evening for a presentation of some award-winning research into video on demand.
It comes barely a couple of weeks after Warc News reported on PricewaterhouseCoopers' announcement that annual advertising revenues among UK broadcasters could decline by £280m as a direct result of catch-up services.
OK, so Thinkbox might have issues with the PwC prognosis, pointing out that ads in VoD services bring in revenue of their own. But will it be enough and, more to the point, will enough advertisers nod in agreement with the title of tonight's industry gathering: "In VoD We Trust"?
It will all depend on the research evidence and, ultimately, the commercial returns. Making the case at the MRG will be Glenn Gowen from Channel 4 and Caroline Rushton from Qmedia.
They will be explaining how they researched Channel 4's ad-funded 4oD video-on-demand service and how the findings have enhanced understanding of consumers' use of VoD and how it can be incorporated into overall ad campaigns.
The research certainly comes with a distinguished pedigree. It picked up a Market Research Society award for Advertising and Media Research late last year, accompanied by this warm praise from the judges:
"It was an extensive study both in terms of the number of brands involved and the robustness and scale of the samples used.
As a result the research puts a useful value on a relatively unknown medium and has widespread and actionable implications."
I'll be reporting back on those implications later this week.
