American Adults Haven’t Forgotten About Legacy Media
According to research by eMarketer, the increasing shift to digital media has not entirely left other formats behind. In 2017, US adults spent significantly more time with non-digital radio than with social media. On average, consumers spent 96 minutes per day listening to radio, compared to only 51 minutes on social media.
Tablet usage is likewise underappreciated, per eMarketer’s analysis. Though tablets make up a minority of content consumption, it is still a significant figure. On average, American adults spend 72 minutes per day using tablets for non-voice activities.
EMarketer predicts that these ratios in media consumption are unlikely to drastically shift in the near future, declaring the era of “wild volatility” over. In the next year, eMarketer predicts only single-digit changes to any media consumption rates.
Teens Move On To Streaming
Among Gen Z, those born between 1996 and 2011, only the most cutting-edge media platforms will do. Per a study by Awesomeness, 71 percent of teenagers’ entertainment consumption comes from streaming services. Teenagers prefer to consume on mobile devices, watching 34 percent of their content on smartphones, compared to 26 percent on PCs and 24 percent on televisions.
“Creating mobile-optimized content that’s platform specific, direct, and entertaining is essential for brands to reach Gen Z,” said Harley Block, senior vice president of brand partnerships for Awesomeness. “They watch 68 videos in a day—meaning this audience has the ability to sort through content faster than ever before.”
YouTube provides the plurality of this entertainment at 34 percent of the total content consumed, with Netflix in second place at 27 percent. Television significantly lags, with live TV making up 14 percent of total video consumption and premium TV representing just 5 percent.
Streaming Video And TV Steadily Diverging
Pricewaterhouse Coopers has released its annual US internet user poll, revealing a steady decline in interest in linear television, with only 73 percent subscribing to traditional TV providers. By comparison, in 2016 that figure was 76 percent, and in 2015 it was 79 percent. Streaming video services have reached equal saturation, with 73 percent reporting a Netflix subscription.
However, one cohort is growing faster than cord-cutters or cord-nevers: cord-trimmers, or consumers scaling back the amount they pay for linear TV packages. In 2017, 37 percent of cable subscribers self-identified as cord-trimmers.
Even though time spent with non-digital television is steadily declining, it still takes up much more of the average day than digital video, with an average of 238 minutes watched daily.
While ad breaks during paid-for cable television are something consumers have come to expect, they are far less tolerant of them on streaming video platforms. According to a survey by IBM Cloud Video, 72 percent of consumers believe that any ads will detract from their viewing experience, with 60 percent disliking even relevant, targeted ads. This means that advertisers likely won’t be able to use Netflix’s movie-recommendation algorithm to target pre-roll ads anytime soon.
Gift-Giving Drives Smart Speaker Adoption
Smart home products are often “recommended” in the form of gift-giving, according to a new study by Scripps Networks Interactive made available to AListDaily.
Research by VentureBeat backs up this analysis. The Amazon Alexa and Google Home apps were the first and second most-downloaded apps on the Google Play store on Christmas Day, indicating heavy adoption as gifts. By comparison, the apps ranked seven and 37 on Google Play charts at the same time in 2016, respectively.
For consumers who purchase connected appliances for themselves, three key lifestyle milestones trigger smart home adoption: home renovation, moving to a new home and an increase in household income.
(Editor’s Note: Our weekly reports post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, January 5. Have a new report, study or insight to share? Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.)
