• Ad Age, Wednesday, May 17, 2006 12 PM

There is some sobering news for marketers who target the youthful 12- to 34-year-old age groups for their products and services. New research shows that members of that demographic group don't really like watching TV all that much and, in fact, only 25 percent of them can even identify all four major broadcast networks. The survey was an online poll conducted by Bolt Media, a 10-year-old Web site that six weeks ago relaunched itself as a place for users to upload videos and photos. About 400 members responded to the questions, including one that asked how respondents spent their free time. Watching TV came in a distant fourth to other activities like watching movies (third place), hanging out with their buddies (second place) and the all-time favorite--surfing the Internet. "There's a massive movement going on in people under 30 and how they spend their media time," said Bolt President Lou Kerner. "Our audience spends lots of time on net, creating their own media. We're finally at an inflection point where advertisers are tired of spending more and more and getting less and less, particularly as it relates to youth. You're going to see a much broader embracement of the Internet as a distribution mechanism to get their shows out there."

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