According to the latest quarterly TV viewing figures from Nielsen, reported by Marketing Charts, youth as a whole are watching less TV, and the decline appears to be
accelerating, says the report. As the data in the Q1 2015 total audience report from Nielsen shows, the drop-off in viewing by the 18-24 demographic isn’t showing any signs of reversing.
Traditional TV Viewing Trends Among 18-24 Year Olds (Weekly Time Spent;
Hrs:Min; Total 18-24 Population) |
Year | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
2011 | 26:28 | 24:17 | 23:57 | 25:34 |
2012 | 24:44 | 22:32 | 21:59 | 23:14 |
2013 | 23:24 | 21:32 | 21:45 | 22:17 |
2014 | 2149 | 19:01 | 17:34 | 18:33 |
2015 | 18:04 | | | |
Source: Nielsen, June 2015 |
Nielsen’s most recent study
indicates that Americans aged 18-24 watched a weekly average of about 18 hours of traditional TV during Q1 2015, a year-over-year decline of 3 hours and 45 minutes per week. I18-24-year-olds as a
group have gone from watching about 3-and-a-quarter-hours per day, during the first quarter of 2014, to a little more than 2-and-half hours per day this year. Probably, says the report, explained
by streaming.
Between 2011 and 2015, Q1 TV viewing by 18-24-year-olds dropped by almost 8-and-a-half hours per week, or by more than an hour a day. The largest decline
occurred within the past year, between Q1 2014 and Q1 2015.
In percentage terms, traditional TV viewing among 18-24-year-olds in Q1 2015 was down by more than 17%
year-over-year, comparable to Q4 2014’s decline. Between Q1 2011 and Q1 2015, weekly viewing by this demographic has fallen by close to 32%. In the space of 4 years, says the report, almost
one-third of this age group’s traditional TV viewing time has migrated to other activities.
A comparison of weekly consumption figures for each medium by age group,
shows that adults spend more time with TV than any other platform; the age group 18-34 spends almost as much time using digital devices as they do watching TV; and radio has the most consistent
minutes of usage across all age groups.
Weekly Hours;Minutes of
Communication Usage In The Population |
Cohort | TV | Radio | PC | Smartphone | Tablet |
All adults | 36:07 | 12:58 | 5:34 | 7:17 | 3:34 |
P 18-34 | 21:55 | 11:05 | 5:04 | 9:53 | 3:43 |
P
35-49 | 33:05 | 13:39 | 6:58 | 8:52 | 4:50 |
P 50+ | 47:24 | 13:50 | 5:05 | 4:37 | 2:44 |
Source: Nielsen, June 2015 |
For additional information from the Nielsen Total Audience Report, Q1 2015,
please visit here.