Use of Data to Target Ads Bothers 59 Percent of Subscribers, Parks Finds

Fifty-nine percent of pay-TV subscribers in U.S. broadband households are bothered that advertisers use personal viewing data to tailor advertisements, said Parks Associates in a release Monday. Forty percent of pay-TV subscribers also “worry about the safety and use of their personal data when they use an online video service,” while 34 percent of U.S. pay-TV subscribers said they trust online video services more than they trust their current pay-TV provider, the researcher said. Such concerns are likely to increase after the FCC and the Senate’s recent action on ISP data privacy, Parks said. “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,” the firm said. “Privacy fears are a major factor in broadband consumers’ online media experiences.”