MUMBAI: People in markets such as China, Brazil and India better exploit the opportunities offered by web-connected television, compared to countries such as the UK, US and Germany, according to research carried out across 13 countries by GfK‘s consumer research experts.

The study found that western consumers are stuck in an ‘analogue‘ mindset, whereas viewers in emerging markets are more likely to embrace the digital capabilities of Connected TV.

GfK research shows that a far higher proportion of Chinese, Korean and Indian consumers have used the functionalities of Smart TV in the past months, compared to those in Western markets.

GfK‘s findings show that ‘Social TV‘ has yet to fully take off. Globally, just 28 per cent of viewers said that they found programmes that they can interact with to be more interesting to watch. And just 25 per cent thought that tweeting and commenting on programmes ‘enhances the viewing experience‘.

Viewers in countries such as China, Brazil and India are more motivated by programmes they can interact with than those in markets such as the UK, US and Germany.

Richard Preedy at GfK said: "Our findings suggest that broadcasters need to integrate their social elements far more engagingly into the fabric of the programme, in order to entice the viewer‘s interaction."

Across all markets, the ability to connect to the internet is less important than price, screen size and display technology, when buying a new TV. But the West is more indifferent than the emerging markets, with only 26 per cent of UK and 29 per cent of US consumers saying they look out for a net enabled set, compared to 61 per cent in India and 64 per cent in China.