Twenty Percent of Primetime TV is Watched Online
This number is an average representing IMMI's measurement of "3,000 teens and adults'" viewing habits of "fourteen primetime shows on two major networks during the fall of 2007 and spring of 2008." We feel that this dataset of only 14 primetime shows and two networks is actually too small to accurately generate an overall sense of people's viewing habits. As the report itself states, online viewing depends on "the genre of the content and the amount of time the show has been on the air." In other words, not all TV shows are created equal. In fact, as we reported last month, the season finale of Lost had almost as many people downloading the episode via BitTorrent as watched it live during the original broadcast. We advise to take the data generated from this report with a grain of salt; but the trends it hints at are nevertheless illuminating...
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| Credit: IMMI |
Contrary to what you might think, the largest age group watching "online episodic content" is not teenagers. In fact, 13 to 17-year olds represented the smallest size of the study's age groups. The age group most often watching primetime TV shows online is 25 to 44-year olds. And it even turns out that the 25 to 44-year olds are more likely to watch online than watch the shows on TV. Based on other metrics collected in the report, the demographic profile of the type of person most likely to watch "primetime shows online" is a 25 to 34-year old, caucasian, woman, making between $40K and $80K, with a college degree. Interestingly, the study also found that "those who view episodes online watch less television in general," and are "less likely to use a DVR."
IMMI collects data by essentially "listening in" on the subjects, with their permission. Subjects are given special cell phones that record ambient audio:
"The IMMI phone randomly samples 10 seconds of room audio every 30 seconds. These samples are converted to digital signatures, which are uploaded continuously to the IMMI servers.
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| Credit: IMMI |
By matching the signatures, IMMI couples media broadcasts with the individuals who are exposed to them. The process takes just a few seconds."
The idea of having ambient audio recorded every 30 seconds might give some concern over privacy. IMMI claims that what people say is never tracked. Those conversations, however, are saved on IMMI's servers along with the rest of the audio samples collected. Collecting data in this fashion has its advantages: as long as the subject brings the charged and powered-on cell phone with them wherever they go, data can be collected at out-of-home locations as well.
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Via: Integrated Media Measurement Inc. | News Archive
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Ha i'm one of those, i watch all my episode on nbc.com, fox.com |
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Same here, I use just about anything I can to watch everything online. I was a big TIVO fan but I mean I simply can't afford it anymore. I started using Hulu and Internet TV and I see no sign of stopping now that cbs started innertube. The only thing I wish is if fox had something like CBS innertube or ABC's HD streaming. Hulu has some fox shows so I'm fine for now, but Fox could really take note of this. |
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Oh man, I was so happy when they put Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Hulu yesterday! Personally, I haven't watched normal TV in over a month, and I have FiOS. |
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What I am curious to see is if they take this information and use it to drive the future of their industry or do they go the way of the RIAA/MPAA and start a costly and useless war to try and stop it. I hope they roll with the punches and use this to develop better content, delivered in a way their customers want and not try to fight an un-winnable war to hold onto an aging and dying business model. Time will tell. |
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It's amazing to me that people don't care enough about quality and watch so much stuff on the internet. I'd much rather watch Heroes in HD on my 65" HDTV than on my 20" LCD in a small box or even fullscreen. |
Good point Shane. These two facts, yours and the one in the study, should give TV companies plenty of food for thought as they look to the future and ponder their content and how it's delivered. Finding new ways to merge the two and make one compliment the other should be their guide going forward. |
shanewu:|
Having the ability to fast-forward "time-saver". |
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The World Canadian Bureau, the WGA, wants the internet money, friend! |
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shanewu: |
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I just joined the craze that is internet tv and continue to be fascinated with the idea of premium quality programming being streamed from the internet with limited or no commercial interruptions. I am not very sophisticated when it comes to computers hardware and software and was wondering if yall could answer some questions for me: |
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ken10 - I'm not your friend, guy! |
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I agree Shane. Your points are what I had in mind when I said the content providers should use this information when planning content and how it is delivered. I have yet to find high quality sreaming anything, but that doesn't mean it will stay that way. Hopefully this will drive both the content providers and the ISP's (through pressure from customers and content providers) to increase quality. The possibilities for the Online and TV based content working together are vast. Lets see if they embrace it or drop the ball. |
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Like honestly, i've tried watching shows online before (shows that i don't get, like on showtime for instance), and the quality of the video is just so freaking horrible that i can't even watch. Its literally unwatchable. i guess i've just been spoiled by so much readily accessible HD-content on my computer and my TV...
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