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Online Tv Viewing Growing, Cable Tv Seeing Declines
11 May 2010 Posted by Market and Main Media
In the last two years, an estimated 800,000 U.S. homes have canceled their cable TV or satellite subscriptions, according to Convergence Consulting Group. Though this number represents a relatively small percentage of the 101 million subscribers, analysts say this could double to 1.6 million by the end of next year. The growing trend is attributed to the increase in quality viewing options online: Hulu, Netflix, broadcasters’ sites and others.
TechCrunch reports that this small niche of “cord cutters” won’t put a serious dent in the $84 billion cable/satellite/telco TV access industry, but argues its existence speaks to the growing momentum of online TV viewing.
But for most, watching TV online is in addition to their current TV watching. In fact, less than 3 percent of those watching full episodes online are those who fit into this category of “cord cutters.” For now, advertisers will continue to put the bulk of their money into traditional TV options. Last year, only about $1 billon was spent on online TV viewing venues while $62 billion was spent on traditional TV advertising.
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Americans Are Watching More Video Than Ever
14 Apr 2010 Posted by Market and Main Media
Nielsen’s quarterly “Three Screen Report” covers U.S. usage of TV, Internet and Mobile. The recently released report on fourth quarter of 2009 concludes that media usage among Americans continues to grow at a record pace. Notably, that growth does not come at the expense of other media channels. That is, users are not replacing TV watching hours with online video hours, rather they are increasing their overall media usage to incorporate alternate forms of media.
Specifically, TV use actually grew during 4Q09, though its pace was slower than other video channels (only grew 1% compared to 4Q08). Thirty-five percent of households now own a DVR, leading to a 25% increase in timeshifted TV usage, the largest increase of any video usage option. Online video usage grew by 16%, mostly driven by workplace viewings. Though mobile video remained flat, the number of active mobile users grew from 11.2 million to 17.6 million, a 57% increase from 4Q08 to 4Q09.
Nielsen also reports that time of day impacts where a consumer watches video. If it’s during traditional TV time (8-11 p.m., M-S), consumers are likely to be watching the TV. But during weekdays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., they are more likely to be watching online.
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