Binge Viewing or Wait-a-While?

by Jack Loechner, Jan 25, 2013, 6:15 AM

• Comment
• Recommend (1)
• Tweet
• 

The Nielsen Cross Platform Report is introduced by Dounia Turrill, Cross Platform Practice Lead, by noting thatfor years, the notion of marathon, or “binge” viewing, and the amount and value of viewing behavior beyond the 7-day period has been widely debated. While currently the vast majority of commercial deals are transacted on a commercial+3 days of viewing basis, additional viewing of both the program and the commercial occurs between 3-7 days. We have, until now, operated using educated and calculated assumptions around how much viewing actually happens beyond 7 days.

Through a new pilot study, Nielsen is measuring the viewing of programs beyond 7 days and up to 29 days for the first time, offering new insight into exactly how viewing is consumed in the once elusive beyond 7-day period through collection and reporting from the National People Meter Panel.

These data have provided valuable insights into the consumer’s viewing behavior highlighting that while the vast majority of shows are, in fact, viewed within the first 7 days, a handful get a sizeable audience in days 8-29. Respectively, among the top 10 shows in broadcast and cable to report viewing beyond 7 days, just over five percent of viewing is happening in this beyond 7-day environment with less than one percent for syndication. In fact, some of the top shows are adding up to an entire rating point in this expanded period.

According to the report, the top 20 programs watched during the total day beyond seven days are:

• Broadcast... Primetime Dramas and Sitcoms dominate Beyond-7 day program viewing while sports dominates live viewing
• Cable... Child oriented programs account for over half of the top 20 programs in beyond-7 day viewing
• Syndication... Over half of the program genres were dramas and sitcoms followed by talk shows Primetime Total Day

And, the top genres across beyond 7 day viewing in Primetime are:

• Science fiction
• General drama
• Participation variety
• Situation comedy
• General variety

While the top genres for the Total Day (beyond 7) are:

• Participation variety
• General drama
• Science fiction
• Daytime drama
• Evening animation

In Q3 2012, says the report, Americans continued to spend more than 34 hours per week in front of a TV set. In fact, they watched an average of an hour and 18 minutes more television this quarter than the prior quarter. With some quarters showing declines and others increases, every stone has been turned to understand the consumer’s behavior with content. Third quarter 2012, led by Olympic coverage, showed that Americans will make the time to watch whether by appointment, or to catch up.

Live And Time Shifted Viewing
	% Viewing
TV Medium	Live	Live, Same Day	Within 7 Days	Beyond 7 Days
Broadcast	87.2%	5.5%	6.1%	1.1%
Cable	93.3	3.4	2.8	0.6
Syndication	94.4	3.4	1.9	0.3
Source: Nielsen, January 2012

 

Average Time Spent Per Person Per Day (Q3 2012; HH:MM)
Medium	Time Spent/Day HH:MM
Live TV	4.24
DVR playback	0.22
Video games	0.13
DVD playback	0.10
Source: Nielsen, January 2012

The report includes several significant data tables to better understand the how and by whom this video is being watched. Some selections are included, and more are found in the complete report in PDF form:

Devices in TV Households (in 000’s)
	Q3 12	Q2 12	Q3 11
Any DVD/BluRay Player	95,983	96,969	99,103
Any DVR	50,278	48,960	46,652
Any High Definition TV	88,124	86,676	79,980
Any Video Game Console	51,771	51,704	52,084
Any Tablet	17,365	14,491	N/A
Source: Nielsen, January 2012 (Based on Universe Estimates for the entire quarter; tablet data not available for Q3 2011)

 

Television Distribution Sources; Number of Households (in 000’s)
Market Break	White	African-American	Hispanic	Asian
Broadcast Only	9%	12%	15%	12%
Wired Cable	51%	53%	44%	51%
Telco	9%	9%	7%	13%
Satellite	32%	27%	34%	25%
Source: Nielsen, January 2013 (Based on scaled installed counts for the entire quarter)

 

Video Audience Composition (Monthly Time Spent in Hours: Minutes; Ethnicity & Race)
Watching:	White	African-American	Hispanic	Asian
On Traditional TV HH:MM	143:40	206:36	127:14	96:13
Watching Timeshifted TV (all TV homes)	12:26	9:30	7:48	8:37
Using a DVD/Blu Ray Device	5:07	6:41	5:11	3:54
Using a Game Console	6:24	7:43	7:29	5:24
Watching Video on Internet	5:49	9:34	9:24	13:16
Mobile Subscribers Watching Video on a Mobile Phone	5:02	7:05	6:15	6:03
Source: Nielsen, January 2013 (Based on Total Users of each medium for Persons 2+)

 

Video Audience Composition (Age Demographic)
	K2-11	12-17	18-24	25-34	35-49	50-64	65+
On Traditional TV	11%	6%	7%	11%	21%	25%	20%
On the Internet	7%	6%	11%	17%	26%	22%	11%
On Mobile Phones	N/A	13%	23%	29%	24%	9%	2%
Source: Nielsen, January 2013 (Based on Total Users of each medium)

 

Monthly Time Spent (in Hours: Minutes; Age Demographic)
	A18-34	A18-49	A25-54	A18+	A21+	A55+
On Traditional TV	117:50	131:06	144:48	158:47	162:13	199:33
Watching Timeshifted TV (all TV homes)	11:15	12:43	14:10	12:18	12:37	11:08
Using a DVD/Blu Ray Device	6:09	5:41	5:31	4:38	4:38	2:54
Using a Game Console	11:13	7:43	5:22	4:39	4:14	0:30
Using the Internet on a Computer	35:09	34:14	34:07	32:38	32:44	28:29
Watching Video on Internet	11:20	9:09	7:39	7:20	7:03	3:54
Mobile Subscribers Watching Video on a Mobile Phone	5:42	5:23	5:06	5:07	5:01	3:24
Source: Nielsen, January 2013 (This table is based on total users of each medium. Traditional TV and Timeshifted viewing estimates are based on 290 million persons in TV Households)

For more information from Nielsen, and access to the complete report, please visit here.

 

• Comment
• Recommend (1)
• Tweet
• 

Be the first to comment on "Binge Viewing or Wait-a-While?"

Leave a Comment