Well, we’re a little more than half-way through these lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. You can tell because the barrage of back-to-school commercials, which started in July, has intensified. Like holiday advertising, they seem to begin earlier every year (the Pearson-McNeil household is already prepared)! Besides the back-to-school ads, the escalating plugs for the new fall line-ups have me excited about TV again. What are you watching this summer?
Working
for Nielsen, which most of you think of as the “TV Ratings” Company, it should
come as no surprise that I can actually share with you who’s watching what (I
can also share information on consumer purchases, online, and mobile habits and
trends, but for today, we’re going to stick with TV viewing). Traditionally, summer is designated for
fun, sun, a spike in outdoor activities and vacationing, so broadcasters
typically see a dip in ratings during this time period. Nonetheless, according to the
latest Nielsen Cross-Platform report Americans overall were watching television
an average of 22 minutes more per month per person than last year. Yes, even though today we have
more innovative choices on which to view video content -- computers, tablets or
even mobile phones -- old school television sets are still the leader in
providing that viewing pleasure for all demographics.
The
report confirms that Blacks still watch television (approximately 213 hours per
month) more than any other ethnic group on both traditional television and our
mobile phones. We average
about 57 more hours of viewing per month than Caucasians, and almost four hours
more than Hispanics, who follow Blacks in viewing habits. Asian-Americans watch the least
amount of traditional television, but make up for it by leading the time spent
watching video on the Internet.
African-Americans
also watch less time-shifted television (think DVR) than the rest of the
population. Television viewing
service providers – satellite, broadcast-only and wired cable – are spread
pretty evenly across the board among Blacks, Whites and Asians. Hispanics, however, are more
likely to get satellite or be broadcast-only.
So I know
you’re wondering: in all that television viewing, are African-Americans
watching the same programs as the rest of America? Yes and no. According to the ratings for the week of July 25,
“America’s Got Talent,” was the most watched show with both the general population
(11. 5 million) and African Americans (1.2 million). An example of a glaring difference in viewing taste,
however, is “The Bachelorette.” It
won the number five slot at 8.1 million viewers for the general population, but
didn’t even register a blip on the ratings radar screen for African-Americans
(umm, perhaps if we saw people who looked like us on the show, more of us would
tune in? I’m just sayin’). Conversely, “So You Think You Can Dance” made the African-American top
10 Television Viewing List, but failed to find a spot in the ratings that same week
among the general population viewers. I haven’t watched the show, but would I be safe in surmising there’s
diversity portrayed on it? Ya’ll
know I always go back to our power as consumers. Remember, both programmers and marketers take the viewing
choices you make – and don’t make – very seriously.
In
addition to race and ethnicity, Americans’ television/video viewing habits also
vary by age and gender. Nielsen
data shows that women ages 25 watch more television than men at 16 hours more
per month. On the other hand, men
are consistently bigger fans of streaming video online. It makes sense that older Americans
(65 ), spend more than twice as much time watching television as teenagers and
about 37 percent more than the 35-49 demographic. Here are some other ways video consumption breaks down
according to age in the report:
* 25 percent of Americans,
50-64, comprise the largest segment of the traditional television audience.
* 27 percent of adults,
35-49, represent the largest chunk of the Internet video audience.
* 30 percent of mobile
video viewers are mostly 25-34 year olds.
* Younger Americans, 12 -17
spend a third of their Internet time watching video.
So, as
the summer days near an end . . . what are you watching? Trust me, it matters.
Cheryl
Pearson-McNeil is senior vice president of public affairs and government
relations for The Nielsen Company. For more information and studies, please
visit www.nielsenwire.com.
