Video News 03.06.25: Families Value Shared Viewing Time
FAMILIES VALUE SHARED VIEWING TIME
A new report from research company Savanta (commissioned by entertainment company Wildbrain) shows that U.S. families rank watching video content together just behind eating and traveling together for promoting family bonding. Detailed findings include:
·?????? 9 in 10 parents watch SVOD content together with their child
·?????? Parents factor in their kids’ content recommendations, but adults make the final decision
·?????? Younger parents see the most value in family viewing—71% of Gen Z parents and 61% of Millennial parents watch with their kids at least once a day. (Savanta/Wildbrain: Mar 5, 2025)
2024 POLITICAL AD CAMPAIGNS OFFER LESSONS FOR 2025
Politicians aren’t the only ones who should look at the 2024 campaigns and adjust for the future—it’s something all advertisers can do. Now that the dust of last year’s elections has settled, what can we learn? Overall, it’s that media fragmentation is irrevocable and the way content is consumed has forever changed. Traditional TV remains an effective way of reaching older viewers, but it’s not the place to get the attention of 18-24 year-olds—they’re watching videos online. There are also lessons about oversaturation, as the sheer number of political ads led to audience fatigue and worked against the brands (in this case, politicians). These are things we intuitively knew, but it makes for a broad and varied case study. (MediaPost: Mar 4, 2025)
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BEST PICTURE NOMINEES DRIVE STREAMING REVENUE
Whether they took home an Oscar last Sunday or not, the Best Picture nominees are sure to be winners for streaming services. Between 2020 and 2024, nominees—especially films released in theaters before their streaming debuts—have generated more than $1.2 billion in subscriber revenue. With their somewhat limited releases, films like this year’s winner, Anora, and nominees such as The Substance and The Brutalist should lure interested viewers and be important revenue drivers in 2025 as well. ?(AdvancedTV Insider: Mar 5, 2025)
“WHEEL” AND “JEOPARDY!” TO ENTER THE STREAMING WORLD
Against the tide of streaming migration, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! have remained broadcast-only properties, viewable only on the stations to which they’re syndicated. That is about to change, as Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced it is soliciting bids for the streaming rights to new episodes. Beginning this fall, shows will be available via streaming the day after they air on broadcast. It’s an opportunity for marketers who can reach the shows’ traditional audience, as well as the younger viewers watching streaming. ?(NY Times: Feb 27, 2025)
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THIS WEEK IN VIDEO HISTORY
March 3, 1985 – Moonlighting debuts Cybill Shepherd teamed with (then-nearly-unknown) Bruce Willis for the midseason debut of a detective show that was sometimes a musical, which broke the fourth wall like crazy and had the best will-they-or-won’t-they relationship since Sam and Diane on Cheers. Eventually… they did. And with that tension broken, viewer interest waned. That, combined with feuding stars and a grueling production schedule, led to Moonlighting’s cancelation in 1989 after only 67 episodes. But what a run it had.?