• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, January 25, 2013

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.

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:

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