A new study by Motorola has found pan-generational consumer demand across Europe to further control and customise the content experience, with 87% of UK consumers found to regularly share content across devices while at home and on the move.

The 2010 European Media Engagement Barometer, conducted with 3,500 Europeans, also suggests that with such a wealth of content available, consumers need more assistance in finding content relevant to their lives: 69% of Europeans are described as being "frustrated" by searching through so many options to find the content they care about.

Motorola goes on to assert that 70% of UK consumers watch live television on at least a weekly basis (compared to a European average of 62%), but consumers in the UK are increasingly accessing content through other mediums: 52% are streaming Internet video, 34% watch television on-demand, and 29% are downloading video from the Internet at least once a week. 

Interestingly, Sweden is found to be the only country in the study (which covered the UK, Sweden, France, Germany and Spain) where live TV does not dominate the viewing experience.  Swedish respondents are reported to have stated that they would rather watch live/streaming Internet video (48%) compared to live television (28%) - perhaps as a result of the country's advanced broadband networks.

“Our research shows that we’re entering a new era for TV – what Motorola has termed ‘the Internet Era of TV’," said Steve McCaffery, Vice President of Motorola's Home & Networks Mobility (EMEA).  "The Internet, social networks and smartphones have changed how consumers of all ages engage with content.  It’s now on their terms.  What this tells us as an industry is that we must continue to develop solutions and services that make the consumer experience as intuitive, individual and interactive as possible.”

Over half of respondents in the UK were interested in TV applications that customise the viewing experience, according to the study, which also found that consumers across different generations are engaging with social networks, and would like to be able to use their television to recommend programmes to like-minded people.

Consumers across Europe also now have an expectation that they will be able to access the same content on the go as at home: Spanish consumer are reported to expect the most media mobility (75%), while UK consumers are also ahead of the European average (69% and 61% respectively).