Juggling the TV Screens

Everywhere you look, there are TV screens.  You can see people watching their iPads in airports.  Video is the most popular content for iPad users.  Even smartphones are now displaying TV shows, video and movies.

In a new study, the more Internet-connected devices we own, the more likely we are to go online while watching television. We are watching more and doing more at the same time.  No wonder we all feel like we have attention deficit disorder.

People with two to three screens become aware of new products offline more than 70% of the time.  About a quarter or so learn about new products online.  There is the reason Apple introduced the iPad on TV and traditional advertising rather than online.

In spite of all the distractions, owning so many screens doesn’t reduce the likelihood of remembering the names of TV advertisers, according to the study.  Online or offline, video is still a major way for people to learn about new products and idea.

Source: Interactive Advertising Bureau, the Mutli-screen Marketer, May 2012.

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Television Is More Real

I have noticed something about broadcast television—it is more real.  With all the talk of broadcast going away, primetime is relatively strong with more than 200 million viewers.  But according to Nielsen Co., broadcast is changing.

Of the top 10 broadcast TV shows, 56% are reality TV; 20% are sports, another form of reality TV show; and 24% are dramas.  No sitcoms cracked the top 10 shows.

One of the reasons for this switch from sitcoms and drama to live programming and reality shows is DVR technology.  Nielsen says that, “news and sports genres received relatively little lift from playback…since viewers generally prefer to watch these types of shows live.”

DVRs were feared to destroy broadcast television, but in fact, the recording units are increasing overall ratings from prime programming and the ads that are contained in the shows.

According to the Nielsen Co., here are some facts about DVR usage that may surprise you:

• Viewers do watch commercials on their DVRs.  Playback lifted commercial ratings by 44% for 18-49 year olds.
• 50% of time-shifted programming is played back the same day.
• DVR households watch more primetime programming than non-DVR households.
• 38% of U.S. households have DVRs.

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A TV In Every Room

According to Nielsen’s Television Audience Report, nearly 55% of US homes have three or more TVs.  It’s grown by 43% from 1990 and 18% from 2000.

There was a time when the family TV was tuned to one channel and everyone watched the same show.  Now, each person can watch their own program.  That means that while some television ratings may drop, the target audience concentration may increase.

Mobile video viewing increased 41% over last year. It is still small, but rapidly growing.  TV sports programming is also expanding.  Video online viewing is also growing.

In the report, it was found that the 30-second commercial is still the standard.  However, commercials are trending shorter.  The number of commercials shorter than 30 seconds increased 12%; commercials longer than 30 seconds decreased by 6%.

Now that my wife can watch her show in the bedroom, my daughter can watch her show in the living room and I can watch my show in the office, it’s a good thing we have cell phones so we can text to each other.

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