TV: We're Still Watching

If you've come across news coverage of the media industry of late, you can be forgiven for believing that audiences are too consumed by their iPhones and the Internet to watch television. These days, suggestions that "TV is on the bubble" might lead you to think consumers are ditching their plasma screens for new platforms. There's just one problem with this — it's wrong. The fact is consumers are watching more television than ever before.

The video experience, however, is widening. Today, for example, more than 130 million U.S. consumers watch video online — up 13% year-over-year — while more than 13 million watch video on their cell phones. The American appetite for video on emerging platforms, it seems, is insatiable.

But such growth is not at the cost of conventional television viewing. Even as consumers increasingly turn to their PCs and cell phones for entertainment, they continue to spend more and more time with traditional TV — 153 hours per month, as of the first quarter of this year.

So if television viewing is up, why all the doom and gloom surrounding the medium?

One reason may be that industry insiders in New York and Los Angeles instinctively believe that typical media consumers behave just as they do.

I recently observed an example of such a misperception first-hand amid a group of media leaders at an industry breakfast discussion. There, a room full of decision makers from print, online and TV, along with private equity and advertising executives, were surveyed about their own video consumption. Among these media professionals, the mean self-reported time spent watching television was only about a third as much as the U.S. average. On the other hand, their viewing of online and mobile video, was considerably higher than average. It's not surprising then, given that their personal media habits vary from the norm, that they were a ways off in their estimates of typical consumer usage.

The point is not that media executives are out of touch with consumers. For the most part they are not; and this small and unscientific survey was insufficient to prove otherwise. Instead, it is the fact that a focus on new and emerging media trends, and the challenges of monetizing them, may skew perceptions of what is commonplace among typical media consumers. It is in this echo chamber that the "decline of television" takes on another life.

Another misconception among some in the industry is that media consumption is a zero-sum game — with television the potential loser. Yet recent research by Ball State University on behalf of the Center for Research Excellence confirms what we at Nielsen continue to find: that people keep adding more media to their lives without abandoning their TVs.

Consumers may watch television online and on mobile devices — while discussing their favorite shows on Facebook and Twitter — but they also watch more television the way they always have: on their televisions, inside their homes.

Advances in video technology should not be understated: the TV industry is changing rapidly and dramatically. Yet rather than creating obsolescence, these innovations are expanding choices. Consumers can now watch their favorite programs on whatever screen best suits the time, place and preferences. Sometimes, that means catching up with a missed television episode online during lunch, or viewing the evening news on their cell phones while on the train home. It also means watching movies, sports or American Idol with the family around the plasma TV at home.

In these ways, it is evident television is not on a bubble. Instead, consumers are renewing and strengthening their engagement with traditional television while adding new screens that expand the viewing experience.

Comments

[lucite]

Nothing to watch except TV Ads, it makes me insane. I rather watch a DVD commercial free.
YouTube is more entertaining than TV.

[tbugir]

I agree that media is sticky, and tends not to go away as quickly as the doomsayers would suggest. However, the most important point of the entire discussion on the changing media landscape has been omitted from your piece. Money. What changes is the amount of money spent on each medium. Advertisers in their search of new consumers will spread their dollars like peanut butter across more mediums. Net result? As a consumer you watch more stuff, but as a company trying to deliver that content, your average revenues go down. End result, less to spend on keeping audiences engaged with relevant content, and they ebb away.

It's not about watching less or more, although as a audience measurement company who sells research to the mediums, I'm sure that is foremost on your mind... its about how much money is being spent in keeping the medium viable. I'd welcome you analysis on that!

[NHBill]

Or exactly how effective TV ads are?
Americans have become so good at tuning out TV ads that they do not work anywhere near as well as they used to.
Even the past few Presidential campaigns saw increases in direct mail. Mail is a fairly inefficient ad medium but at least it puts you physically in the home.
TV ads have become noisy wallpaper.
Why do you think Billy Mays is screaming at you?

[constabull]

Wow what a completely self-negated article. TV viewing is not going down but it is. TV execs are wrong on how people watch TV but they aren't. Seems to be a trend now to satisfy every point of view in an article or speech and never fall on one side or the other. Waste of time.

[Kungfublood]

With all the outright lies and Bush neo con propaganda dressed up as legitimate news stories ,fed to the American public in prime time and never recanted in any meaningful way. Why would you expect the crooked executives at the networks to suddenly start telling the truth about them selves!

[ProfessorDuh]

I watch Turner Classic Movies on the DVR, or the MSNBC evening shows. Nothing on TV now compares to what TCM has to offer.

[NHBill]

I used to love TCM until I realized I have seen all the good movies they air.

[BBackSoon]

Hell even Fix was complaining about Nielson as of late.

I understand statistics and realize it is more of an art than a science but the fact that my own viewing habits never match their results just makes me wonder ‘What’s wrong with me?’

After considering all the info I am either, much more eclectic and intelligent than the Average TV viewer, or the Average is simply wrong.

[NHBill]

In American the average comprehension level is about 6th grade. Does that help?

[Rondo]

I no longer use television to keep up with current events.

Television news traded journalism for entertainment a long time ago.

When I want to be entertained, I watch sports, listen to music, read a book or watch a movie.

[Isis N]

I suspect that I'll watch more on my laptop as more shows continue to show up online. As it is, most of what I watch already is up online, and that which isn't is used as family time to watch a beloved show... Now If I had HBO, that might be a different story...

Otherwise, I can just wait for the seasons to come out and rent them from Blockbuster or something...

[ProfessorDuh]

The Eye of Horus. Cool.

[kmsbt]

When you rent or download a season you watch the shows more like the actors and crews made them, closer together than once a week. If the number of people renting seasons rather than watching during the "season" increases, will shows adjust and what would they change?

[Changeling]

Sorry. I still watch my TV.

Occasionally stream shows I've missed, but I have no interest in watching TV on a PC on a regular basis.

[deckard70]

That's why laptops have hdmi-outs -- so you can plug 'em right into your big lcd tvs. Even older laptops have older forms of video-out.

[jerrypl]

Susan, maybe you are still watching TV, but I am not!!!!! I gave up my TV in 1984, and never, never bought another one. I don't watch TV, or care to. There might be some good stuff on it, but it is outweighed by the crap, and advertising propaganda. I don't need to be told about our erectile dysfunction, or our depression and if we take these medicines we are at risk of dying from stroke. I don't need to be assaulted by fast food ads, car ads, and the rest.

I don't need to watch hyped up fake news and marshmallow news broadcasts.

Plus, I don't have to spend all that money for cable. I don't believe it is worth it.

http://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com

[MED1025]

Older people may still be watching TV, but younger people are viewing content on TV, throught the computer and on a phone. The TV industry could be in the same place as the newspaper industry in a few years.

[monoxboogie]

My question is who keeps track of T.V. on the internet and Itunes? Sure not a lot of people may watch a show on the "box" but if it's on hulu? or Itunes? What then? Do those numbers get reflected or is it just TV? If that's the case, then why are these numbers being held up as the holy grail? On a side note, TWC has yet to bring fearnet back on. If that doesn't happen there'll be one less cable consumer.

[NHBill]

Neilsen is the only game in TV town.
The internet on the other hand is extremely measurable as every mouse click on every page is counted.
Fearnet is owned by TWC rival Comcast. Expect some tug of war over that one. But defiantly let TWC know how you feel. Believe it or not viewer mail is looked at carefully.

[kendraro]

While millions will always prefer to watch TV directly, I predict that more and more people are going to switch to viewing online. And in my opinion, the execs are making huge blunders while they flail about in this new environment. They are completely overlooking the intersection of marketing through the internet in relation to shows. I don't just mean a t shirt or mug with the show name on it.

[topkatnc]

I use to say that I don't know anyone with a Nielsen box on their TV until my Mother got one...My Mother's viewing habits were Christian music, Hew Haw and the news...Six years later I was approached to have one, but I said no..The reason being is that I had 3 tvs and it would have taken 5 hours to be insalled by 4 to 5 men who all would come in seperate cars...

[idealisticNM]

I can't imagine who all these TV-watching folks are; I know very few people who watch TV anymore. We are about to conveniently "forget" to hook up our old dinosaur TV to digital next month; I don't think we'll miss a thing. We'll still be able to watch netflix rentals on it. There's not anything on TV to watch, anyway. Oh, except Lost.

[NHBill]

There is some very good stuff on TV if you know where and when to watch. You have to work at it a bit. If you plunk your butt down and play TV roulette with the remote you will not be satisfied.