Smile, TV. You've Still Got it.
If you work in broadcast TV, you can feel rather smug today, with reason. In an article published by Ad Age today about video viewing, the subhead was this: "Something to consider: in just a year's time, the average American has cut traditional-TV viewing by more than six hours per month."
Well, I must read this, I think to myself as I click on the article. Then my eyes stray down to the chart, where I see:
Wow. And yet the subhead is about declining traditional TV viewership. Yes, the evolution of how Americans view video is extremely interesting, and as a media geek I enjoy watching and reading about the changes. But as I remember over the past many years all the hubbub about the next thing that was going to make TV all but obsolete; the DVR was going to make TV viewers skip all commercials, which in turn was going to have advertisers leaving in a mass exodus, then how video viewership on digital platforms such as Hulu and Netflix was going to kill broadcast TV, then viewership on smartphones, and whatever the platform du jour might be. Competing media sellers had some great talking points each time the latest potential interloper came into the picture.
Yet when we all calm down, and really look at the hours per month that people are likely sitting on their couch and watching TV with their family or friends, it's 14 times as much as watching video on the internet. 139 more hours per month. Almost 5 more hours a day. And if we even look at the time-shifted TV time spent of only 15:26, the DVR, as prevalent as it is in all our homes, hasn't exactly flipped the tables over either. (Message: We're still seeing your commercials, advertisers, trust us.)
Of course this is an exciting time in video, in digital video, as the emerging platforms change our habits and our lifestyles. The fact that watching video on the internet has jumped 3 hours per month in the past year is, of course, extremely significant. But putting it all in perspective, other than a bigger, flatter TV, and probably our cell phones on the couch next to us (oh, and soda in a bottle), 2015's habits are really not that far from the picture in the header, are they?
Read Ad Age Article here:
Creator, Reporter, Producer at “What the Tech?” Covering consumer technology for local television stations across the country.
9 年Nice to see someone (Cyndy) pays attention to details. statistics don't lie but some people fib with them to make for better headlines. Thanks Cyndy. At ease everyone.
I have built a fantastic team of account executives that help their clients maximize advertising results while also achieving revenue goals for our company.
9 年Love this! Thanks for posting. :)
Multi Media Account Executive - TEGNA
9 年Thanks for the education Cyndy - good stuff. I am trying to do the same with education on print is not dead - at least with inflight magazines its not.