Contrary to some common perceptions about advertising, a Deloitte study says younger TV viewers actually have a higher tolerance for advertising -- especially for streaming services.
In a study of 2,000 U.S. consumers who were asked about traditional TV-video content viewing, Generation Z and Millennials were found to have a higher tolerance compared to Baby Boomers and older audiences defined as Matures.
Older Generation Xers were also in the same category as Gen Z and millennials -- saying that 8.61 minutes of advertising is about right, while 16.67 is too much.
Baby boomers/older TV viewers had a lower tolerance, saying 6.60 minutes is about right, while 14.94 minutes is too many. Older “mature” viewers also cited 6.60 minutes as being about right, and 15.62 as too many.
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The study defines Generation Z as those born between 1997 and 2004; Millennials, between 1983 and 1996; Generation X, 1966-1982; Boomers, 1947-1965; and Matures, prior to 1946.
Advertising tolerance was even higher when it comes to live TV streaming services, according to the research. Gen Z considers 10.61 minutes per hour of advertising time to be about right, with Millennials citing 9.90 minutes; Gen X, 9.75 minutes; Boomers, 6.7 minutes; and Matures, 7.18 minutes.
Overall, consumers say about eight minutes of advertising -- or a ratio of advertising minutes to total viewing minutes of 13% per hour of video content -- is a fair ratio. Sixteen minutes of commercials per hour is “too many.”