TV Universe Expands, Share Of Channels Tuned Does Not
Despite the rapid expansion of alternative media options, Americans continue to watch more, not less TV, according to an annual benchmark report from Nielsen Co. But they are spending that increased viewing time watching a relatively small percentage of the TV channels available to them - less than 14% on average.
The findings, which come from Nielsen's just-released "Television Audience 2008" report, reveals that the average U.S. TV household spent 58 hours and 27 minutes per week tuned to television, up 20 minutes from 57 hours and 47 minutes in 2007. The average represents and increase of about 10 hours per week since 1990, and nearly 15 hours per week since 1975, the first year for which data is reported in the study.
While that trend is a testament to the holding power of television amid an onslaught of new media options - especially the Internet - American TV households also appear to be watching relatively fewer of the TV channels that are available to them.
The number of channels receivable by the average U.S. household jumped to 130.1 in 2008, 11.5 more than the 2007 average. But the average number actually "tuned" to, according to Nielsen's definitions, was only 17.8, a slight increase from the 2007 average of 16.0.
That means the typical American household watches only 13.7% of the TV channels available to them, about the same percentage as 2007 (13.5%), and a downward trend from the average earlier on this decade (see table below).
The findings are interesting for the greater media universe, because the increasing abundance of TV channel options is a microcosm for the expanding array of choices available to the average American consumer, and goes to prove that media fragmentation has its limits. Given an expanding array of options, people still gravitate to a relatively finite set of choices.
| TV Channels Receivable Vs. Tuned | |||
|
| Receivable | Tuned | % Tuned |
| 2000 | 61.4 | NA | NA |
| 2001 | 71.9 | NA | NA |
| 2002 | 79.7 | NA | NA |
| 2003 | 85.8 | NA | NA |
| 2004 | 92.6 | 15.0 | 16.2% |
| 2005 | 96.4 | 15.4 | 16.0% |
| 2006 | 104.2 | 15.7 | 15.1% |
| 2007 | 118.6 | 16.0 | 13.5% |
| 2008 | 130.1 | 17.8 | 13.7% |
Source: Nielsen's "Television Audience 2008"
0 comments on "TV Universe Expands, Share Of Channels Tuned Does Not".
Leave a Comment
Recent MediaDailyNews Articles
-
Consumers Tag Costco, Movado As Most Promising Brands June 18, 6:09 p.m.
Costco, Cisco and Movado are the three most financially promising pure-play, publicly traded brands in the ... -
'Voice' Sings To Consistent Beat June 18, 5:57 p.m.
One of the biggest shows on broadcast television finished its spring edition pretty close to where ... -
Motorola Hires Digitas For Global Media Account June 18, 5:43 p.m.
Google-owned Motorola has appointed Publicis Groupe’s Digitas to handle global media duties, according to sources. Those ... -
'Jimmy Kimmel,' Myspace Promote Musicians June 18, 2:56 p.m.
Select artists that appear on TV late-night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live” will get to perform an ... -
W+K Amsterdam's Heineken Ad Wins Cannes Lions Grand Prix, Creative June 18, 11:31 a.m.
A Heineken ad campaign from Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam, the brand’s first global campaign effort, has ... -
Millennials Split In Attitude, Teens Less Upbeat, But Resilient June 18, 10:56 a.m.
MTV says younger U.S. millennials are a bit more pessimistic than older millennials.New millennials ages 14 ... -
Scripps Launches TV Everywhere With TWC June 17, 6:01 p.m.
Scripps Networks has a TV Everywhere deal with Time Warner Cable, allowing viewers access to on-demand ... -
Cannes Lions, Gates Foundation Partner For Global Initiative June 17, 5:51 p.m.
It sounds like a cliché from a beauty pageant, where the contestants talk about the lofty ... -
After TV, Sports Fans Up Coverage On Mobile, Social Nets June 17, 4:27 p.m.
While TV remains the No. 1 platform for sports fans, the second-screen TVs of sports -- ... -
Public Trust In Newspapers Dips Again June 17, 2:19 p.m.
In addition to their well-publicized financial woes, newspapers have a credibility problem, as Americans’ confidence in ...
I've never understood this kind of inference--that it is somehow a limitation of multichannel television that the number of channels viewed/number of channels received is a declining percentage. So what?
Talk to me when the absolute number of channels viewed declines and then I'll agree that you have a story. For now my takeaway is that with all the attention for media in our crowded lives, the average TV household is watching nearly three additional channels than they were just 5 years ago.