Interaktives Fernsehen als Problem in der Diffusionsforschung

The suppliers of new television services welcome the digitalization of television in Germany because it may boost the establishing of interactive television and open up new business options. So far research into the potential of such services has yielded mixed results. However, most studies so far have only investigated the general intention to adopt new services and did not regard real adoption. Moreover all German studies follow a strict cross-sectional design and are therefore unable to detect the dynamics of the process of diffusion. We combine data on the adoption of new services from a longitudinal study with data from a quasi-experimental design in order to dig deeper into the dynamics of the diffusion of innovations in the television sector. We identify key events – besides other well-known influences – as crucial factors in the process of the diffusion of media innovations. Key events alter the process by activating the communication about innovations.