As technology
advances, so does the way that people are watching it. They are no longer just
watching their favorite shows through traditional means. In the past people
would have to wait until the scheduled time to watch their favorite show. They
would have to plan their schedules accordingly so that they would make sure
they would be home to watch it because if they missed it, then they would not
be able to see it again unless the network decided to air it a second time.
Things are much different now though. With the birth of the internet came a new
age of technology. People have the ability to watch their favorite shows where
ever and whenever they want. A study by Retrevo shows that many young adults
now watch their shows online rather than live. “The study of 1,000 people found
that 23% of those under 25 watch most of their TV content over the Internet,
compared with 8% of those over the age of 25. Men are also more likely to turn
to the Web for TV viewing than women, with 17% of men saying they watch all
their TV shows online, compared with 9% of women.” (tvweek.com) They no longer
need to budget their time which is now more convenient for the public, but is
it more convenient for the television industry?
People always
want to find the easiest way to do things. We have become a society of finding
the fastest and most convenient way to do things. Most people would now prefer
watching their favorite shows online because they can do it whenever they want.
Television industries used to be able to air their shows and know people would
be watching live because of the anticipation of the show that day. They would
be able to show marathons of the show and know people would be watching it
because they love the show. Now, being able to watch these things online
whenever is convenient has taken the viewers away from the television. They now
can watch a whole season of a show online in one day which is taking away from
the television networks viewing.
The television
industry, when looking at ratings saw a drop in live viewing once websites like
Netflix and Hulu came out. “Audience ratings have collapsed: Aside from a brief
respite during the Olympics, there has been only negative ratings growth on
broadcast and cable TV since September 2011, according to Citi Research.”
(Edwards) They saw that people weren’t watching their shows as much and became
fearful that they were losing ratings because of the new way people were
streaming the shows. As Netflix ratings have gone up, TV ratings have gone down
and now television companies must figure out a way to bring back up their
ratings.
Michael O’Connell
writes in the Hollywood Reporter that when looking at a shows ratings, networks
must start to count the views from streaming as well as live viewing. “Ranked
by their current season averages in live-plus-7 ratings in the key demographic
of adults 18-49, per Nielsen Media, these shows also boast strong viewership
and (in many cases) a handsome afterlife online and on-demand after the
now-obligatory DVR lifts are tallied.” (O’Connell) He mentions how Nielsen is
going to start tallying how many views a show gets up to seven days after it
has aired live on a network. He gives examples of shows that have been viewed
live and online to show the change that is happening in this technology era.
If television
industries want to try and bring ratings back up or to try and bring back live
viewers they have their work cut out for them. They should start by looking at
when websites like Netflix and Hulu gain their most subscribers. By knowing
this information they can then determine what to put on their networks and
when. “While Netflix doesn't share specific data on its viewers, spokeswoman Jenny
McCabe said the site doesn't acquire more subscribers during the summer months.
Rather, it picks up more viewers in Q1 (January, February and March) and Q4
(October, November and December).” (Desta) Knowing this information can help
the television networks in gaining viewers. If less people are joining these
websites in the summer, the networks can release more of their premieres to try
and gain viewers. People have more free time in the summer, especially
students, which allows them to be able to actually sit down and watch shows
live more often. Television companies will always be competing with streaming
websites taking their viewers, they just have to be smart about it and try to
come up with ways to attract people back to live viewing.
Desta, Yohana. "Netflix vs. Cable: How Viewers Watch TV
in the Summer."Mashable. N.p., 19 June 2014. Web. 06 Feb. 2015.
<http://mashable.com/2014/06/19/netflix-cable-summer/>.
Edwards, Jim. "TV Is Dying, And Here Are The Stats That
Prove It." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 24 Nov.
2013. <http://www.businessinsider.com/cord-cutters-and-the-death-of-tv-2013-11#ixzz3GYIQvTlM>.
O'Connell, Michael. "The Highest-Rated Broadcast Series
of 2014 - and How People Watched Them." The Hollywood Reporter.
N.p., 30 Dec. 2014. <http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/highest-rated-broadcast-series-2014-760484>.
"Younger Viewers Turning to Web for Television Viewing
| TVWeek."TVWeek. N.p., 13 Apr. 2010. Web. 06 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.tvweek.com/broadcast/2010/04/younger-viewers-turning-to-web/>.
Amanda, I really enjoyed reading your post on television viewings. You have made several interesting and valid points that support how the live television audience is slowly decreasing. It is tremendously unbelievable that this form of technology, which used to bring millions of families together, is coming to an end. According to “TV is Dying, And Here Are The Stats That Prove It,” “In all, about 5 million people ended their cable and broadband subs between the beginning of 2010 and the end of this year.” (Edwards) With the increase of viewers subscribing to companies such as Netflix, or Hulu, there is defiantly going to be more than 5 million people ending their cable and broadband, very soon.
ReplyDeleteOne television network that has realized live television was just not going to beat these companies is, HBO. According to the article, “HBO Plans New Streaming Service, With Eye on Cord Cutters,” it states, “ HBO announced Wednesday that it would start a stand-alone Internet streaming service in the United States in 2015 that would not require a subscription to a traditional television service, a move that intensifies the premium cable network’s growing rivalry with Netflix.” (Emily) This is a perfect example of how networks are keeping up with the times, and trying to survive.
In your last paragraph, you made a very good point in proving that in order for the television industry to strive, you state, “ They should start by looking at when websites like Netflix and Hulu gain their most subscribers.” This was a very interesting idea, which I didn’t even think of, because timing can make a huge difference when determining a business success. Another good idea to attract users to watch live television is through, social media. According to the article, “From Live To 24/7: Extending Twitter TV Engagement Beyond The Live Airing,” it states,” Millions of people take to Twitter to share their passions about their favorite programming in the heat of the moment—as the moments happen. While the majority of the conversations happen during live broadcasts, as networks look to boost fan engagement and build program audiences, networks and agencies can now quantify how much of the discussion happens outside of the live airing window for more than 650 English and Spanish language programs.”(Newswire) In other words, twitter and live television have made an opening for communication with millions around the world. Twitter allows for millions of people to connect in regards to any interests they share, by the use of the Hash Tag. Now, when you are watching your favorite television show, you can communicate with other fans. It is a great way to engage with other people who share the same interest with you. It also allows for the network, and even actors, to connect with their audience.
Steel, Emily. "HBO Plans New Streaming Service, With Eye on Cord Cutters." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Oct. 2014. Web. 06 Feb. 2015.
"Newswire ." From Live to 24/7: Extending Twitter TV Engagement Beyond the Live Airing. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2015.
Edwards, Jim. "TV Is Dying, And Here Are The Stats That Prove It." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 24 Nov. 2013. .
Brittany Joyal
ReplyDeleteYears ago if one were to be asked which out of the Internet and television serves as the second screen when viewing content the answer would undoubtedly have been in favor of the Internet. However, recently there has been a shift. The Internet is gradually beginning to replace television as the primary viewing platform for content, leaving TV to take a back seat to streaming services and other forms of over-the-top viewing. Throughout your post you bring up interesting points regarding the repercussions of said shift. Furthering a few of your arguments is Victor Luckerson in TIME. Luckerson states:
Not surprisingly, streaming services like Netflix have benefitted from the decline in TV viewing. Forty percent of households now subscribe to a subscription video on demand service such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Instant Video, up from 35% in 2013. Thirteen percent of households now have a multimedia device like an Apple TV to stream such content. The same percentage of households have smart TVs, which natively stream apps like Netflix. On computers, viewing of online video increased by about 4 hours per month year-over-year to 10 hours and 42 minutes.
This decrease in live content viewing and subsequent increase in time shifted viewing may in fact be, as mentioned in your blog post, due to the factor of convenience. Digital natives makeup a notable portion of TV consumers and have grown up in a fast-moving digital environment. Due to this, this particular target audience expects to consume the content they want, when they want it, with limited commercial interruptions. The mentality of instant gratification and need for convenience is something discussed in The Nation’s article entitled "Convenience, Instant Content Keys to Reaching 'Digital Natives”. The article states:
They [digital natives] do [everything] via mobile phone, simply because it is convenient to use anywhere they are and cost-free. TV still plays a major role in their lives and…they are expected to be the main digital TV consumers in the future. Convenience and instant access would be the best way to reach them.
Brittany Joyal cont.
ReplyDeleteAudiences such as the digital natives that prioritize convenience and binge watching over traditional live TV viewing are certainly contributing to the dip in television ratings. Scott Collin’s article in the Los Angeles Times identifies that shows such as ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder” and Fox’s “Gotham” seem to be surviving the rapid decline in traditional cable ratings however others such as ABC’s comedy “Seflie” and Fox’s “Mulaney” seem to be floundering. Collin draws a loose connection between declining rates and show genre pointing out the substantial hardships comedies seem to be facing in the wake of the shift. As you note in your post, in order for TV industries to attempt to increase ratings and gain back live viewers they are going to have to adapt. CBS’ Kelly Kahl is quoted in the Los Angeles Times stating, “Better to have the audience watching sometime than not at all” (Collins).
You’ve stated, “They [television industries] should start by looking at when websites like Netflix and Hulu gain their most subscribers. By knowing this information they can then determine what to put on their networks and when”. I believe this is a valid point. Timing is essential when it comes to attracting and retaining the target audience. If television networks were to try to capitalize on times when their audiences are more likely to bypass streaming services for live viewing, they may be able to stay afloat. For example, if studies find that students have more free time during the month of December for holiday breaks from schools and universities, they may be able to air a mini-series during that month and are more likely to attain and retain and live viewing audience.
As Jim Edwards states in Business Insider, “The number of cable TV-only subscribers remaining could sink below 40 million later this year, according to this data from ISI Group, an equity research firm” (Edwards). If television networks don’t find a way to adapt and do so quickly, it seems as though ratings will continue to dip at an unprecedented rate.
Works Cited
Collins, Scott. "Fall TV’s Winners and Losers so Far." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2014. Web.
Edwards, Jim. "TV Is Dying, And Here Are The Stats That Prove It." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 24 Nov. 2013.
Luckerson, Victor. "Here's Proof Television Is Slowly Dying." TIME. TIME, 3 Dec. 2014. Web.
Thongtep, Watchiranot. "Convenience, Instant Content Keys to Reaching 'Digital Natives': Mindshare - The Nation." The Nation. N.p., 27 Mar. 2014. Web.