Commentary

Half Of U.S. Linear Households Saw Just 8% Of TV Ads In 1H


Underscoring the growing difficulty of reaching much of the U.S. population with linear TV alone, a new study finds that the half of TV viewers who consume the most linear TV saw 92% of TV ad impressions in first-half 2023, while the other half saw just 8% of impressions. 

That’s …

1 comment about "Half Of U.S. Linear Households Saw Just 8% Of TV Ads In 1H".
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  1. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, August 14, 2023 at 7:36 a.m.

    The problem with smartset panels---even if they employ seemingly huge samples, are assumed be representative of the total TV set population and the data is correctly processed, is that all that is being measured is whether ad an is displayed on a screen. So when we are told that 50% of U.S. "viewers" were exposed to 92% of the "linear TV" ads what they really mean is that 50% of the smartsets in their panel displayed 92% of  the commercial presentations.

    People studies typically  report something similar, namely that 40% of all adults--the top two viewing quintiles---do  70-75% of all viewing----but these studies account for activity on old fashioned sets---which is still sizeable-----and adults who don't have smartsets. The same studies reports even greater concentrations of usage for other media platforms---online, radio, print, OOH, and, yes, streaming. Which is why media planners must consider many combinations of media---not just a single choice---if they want to maximize reach. 

    Speaking of reach, it is not true that half of U.S. consumers---er, I mean smartsets----can't be reached by "linear TV". When all of the ways that linear content is accessed---cable, over-the- air reception, apps----are considered the true  figure  is more like 20%. In fact a recent GFK/MRI study reported that  77% of  its adult respondents watched "linear TV" on an aerage day. This may be a tad inflated---as some respondents may not be certain how they obtained their program content---- but it stands in sharp contrast to the "finding" that linear TV's reach is only 50% over an entire six-month period.

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About the Author

Karlene Lukovitz is editor of MediaPost's "Digital News Daily" and writes the weekly "Video Insider" and "Advanced TV Insider" columns. You can reach her at karlene@mediapost.com.

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