Written on
Jul 26, 2016 Author
Adotas |
Definitive report on Millennial viewing shows younger adults prioritize TV to a surprising extent.
Contrary to the popular portrait of multitasking dilettantes fixated on phones and hooked on YouTube, Millennials actually prioritize TV on personal, social and commercial levels. They spend more time with TV than any other medium, fuel social network conversation about its shows and stars, and drive digital categories that advertise heavily on TV, according to Millennials Decoded: Turnt Up for TV, a definitive report on Millennial viewing from the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB). A comprehensive analysis of verified industry data, punctuated with Millennial slang, Millennials Decoded answers persistent requests from advertisers for a comprehensive, credible examination of this elusive, enigmatic consumer segment.
“The avalanche of Millennial research has hyped isolated characteristics that can be misleading, via proprietary studies that can’t be verified,” said Jason Wiese, VP/Strategic Insights at the VAB (pictured top left). “We’re providing clarity on overall viewing – scale, time and impact – from audited, third-party, industry standard sources, so advertisers and agencies can see younger consumers from a more accurate perspective.”
TV’s their Bae (before anything else).
Fully 65 million Millennials watched TV in the first quarter this year, vs. 61 million for the same period in 2002. While smartphones are becoming the first device for everything else, the TV screen itself still commands the vast majority of Millennials’ video time – 88% watching on TV vs. 4% on smartphones or tablets. In terms of average audience per minute, TV gets 9.1 million Millennials, versus 4.9 million for smartphones and 1.1 million for tablets. Although they’re noted for binge-watching online, Millennials watch 90% of their TV live. Their appetite for posting and tweeting about TV episodes requires keeping pace with the storylines.
Millennials are engaging with TV brands twice as much as they’re doing anything on the four Internet portals, Facebook and YouTube (89 hours vs. 43 hours per month). In particular, they’re watching TV a lot more than YouTube. In May 2016, adults 18-34 watched nearly 61 hours of ad-supported TV vs. nearly 14 hours of YouTube (82% to 18%). For 25-34, TV time is 84% (70 vs. 13 hours). And while YouTube viewing is rising for 18- to 24-year-olds, TV still commands 77% of their viewing time (47 vs. 14 hours).
Of all the young-skewing websites, only Facebook, YouTube or Pandora would rank within the top 100 TV programs for Millennials. On a time-spent basis, TV outpaces Facebook and YouTube in average audience by more than 3 to 1 and 4 to 1, respectively. Similarly, many younger-skewing TV programs boast considerably higher audiences than leading Ad Tech platforms. Empire holds a 70% advantage of Facebook and The Bachelor outdraws YouTube by 30%, while The Voice beats Instagram 4 to 1 and Teen Mom 2 bests Buzzfeed by 11 to 1.
TV brands anything but “basic” (unoriginal).
Many of today’s most popular Millennials are TV stars who lead exciting and edgy programs geared towards a young audience. Their audiences are huge too – 10 top Millennial TV shows average 9.3 million viewers vs. 1.6 million average for 10 top YouTube channels. Top Millennial TV stars also tend to have larger social media followings than top YouTube personalities as well (2.9 million average Twitter followers for TV vs. 2.7 million for YouTube).
This connection with TV brands influences Millennials’ purchasing. For example, TV is driving the multi-billion-dollar app, gaming and fantasy sports businesses that rely predominantly on Millennial customers. With two out of three Daily Fantasy Sports players and nearly half of all smartphone app users between the ages of 18 and 35, these fast-growing industries are building their businesses largely on TV advertising – collectively spending more than $1 billion on TV advertising across a wide range of programming. The vast majority of these Millennial advertisers show a direct correlation between TV advertising and sales.
“Marketers need to refocus on the big picture,” said Danielle DeLauro, SVP/Strategic Sales Insights at the VAB. “Millennials’ commitment to TV brands is greater than ever, as their engagement extends beyond TV to digital and social channels. Most importantly, Millennials are persuaded by advertising on TV which is driving billion-dollar categories in mobile apps, gaming and fantasy sports.”
About the VAB
The Video Advertising Bureau is an advocacy group dedicated to providing advertisers and their agencies with the most current, complete and actionable media insights on the expanding world of premium, multiscreen TV content. The VAB member companies include AE Networks, Altice USA, AMC Networks, ATT AdWorks, CBS Corporation, Cinema Advertising Council, Comcast, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, Discovery Communications, FOX Networks, Hallmark, Mediacom, National CineMedia (NCM), NBCUniversal, Screenvision Media, Scripps Networks, Spotlight Cinema Networks, Suddenlink Communications, Time Warner Cable, Tribune Media, Turner Networks, Verizon FiOS, Viacom, and Walt Disney Co.
ADOTAS, founded in 2003, is a premier news publication focused on the Internet advertising and media industry. ADOTAS features a twice-daily email newsletter and web site and is proud to reach well over 100,000 advertising professionals monthly.
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