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Who’s Watching All That TV?
By Mark Evans | November 26, 2008
I watch no television….if you don’t take into account NFL and NHL games.
But according to the Neilsen Co.’s “A2/M2 Three Screen Report”, the average person in the U.S. watches an astounding 142 hours of TV a month.
What I want to know is what are these people watching? It may be a 500-channel universe but there’s a lot of crap coming being broadcast. So clearly, there are a lot of non-discrimminating couch potatoes with nothing better to do than waste time on bad programs.
Now, I could be all dismissive and make a bunch of couch potato jokes but that would be like the tea pot calling the kettle black.
How come? Well, most of the TV watching I used to do has been replaced by spending time online - be it surfing, watching videos, blogging or e-mail. I certainly don’t spend eight non-work hours a day on the Web but the hour or so of post-work time I do have is usually spent online as opposed to the TV.
So, the question is whether surfers are any better or different than couch potatoes, or are we just the same screen-obsessed creatures?
The truth is the Web is as addictive as time-consuming as watching TV but it has more utility has an entertainment, communications, retail and educational tool. Does this make the Web better than TV, or just different?
Another twist is watching TV on the Web is becoming easier than ever, which suggests TV/video watching may even increase given you can do it just about anywhere. The newest player on the scene is Sling Media, which just launched a video portal to compete against Hulu and Joost. TechCrunch reports Sling’s offering is off to a good start.
What’s interesting is even though people are apparently spending more time than ever watching TV, the amount of money spent on TV advertising is flat. This suggests advertisers are spending elsewhere, including Web, although spending on online video advertising has yet to catch fire.
So, what’s happening out there. Here’s one explanation:
“This precipitous drop reflects not only the poor economic conditions, but fundamental changes in the way television advertising is being bought and sold,” says Carol Krol, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, Television’s New Picture: Seismic Shifts in the Digital Age. “Fragmentation and declines in viewership have made it more difficult for advertisers to reach audiences.”
More: The graphic and eMarketer quote were pulled using a new service called sni.ps - more on it later. For more thoughts on how much television people are watching, Mitch Joel looks at how advertising is going to be affected.
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Topics: Media |