“Primetime is Personal” and Other Findings from Involved Media’s Streaming Study

Trying to get your finger on the pulse of television, much less to define it, is an ongoing exercise. Enter Involved Media, an international full service media agency, with a new study titled Connected Audience Spring 2024 Report. 

This study, fielded in January 2024, examines the state of streaming. Tess Erickson, Director, Strategy and Research with Involved Media, explained that this study, the first for the agency, is slated to become bi-annual. “We determined that we needed to have our own proprietary, consistent wave over wave study, that we can design and analyze in-house and to get a better sense of exactly the questions we want to ask,” she noted.

The study revealed that SVOD subscription streaming within the ad universe has grown significantly in the past year as compared to findings from similar studies. “About a year prior, we had just over half of our sample reachable by SVOD ads. That number in our most recent survey was 66%. So there has been a really big explosion in this,” she shared. While some of this can be explained by the timing of the study in January when football is in high gear, there were also, according to Erickson, additional new ad supported tiers added in the last year or two with more live events within the streaming universe.

“People who selected the premium tier were really hard to reach,” she noted, “But the increase in live events, like we see with Amazon, allows for reach to those premium viewers who are willing to pay extra to avoid some ads. Those are now people that will be reachable as long as they're watching those live events.”

For Erickson, the data shows that the definition of primetime is shifting, arguably because streaming is more of an on-demand viewing activity. For her, “when primetime starts for people is very personal. They start their prime time viewing when they can pay attention. They watch on their own start time and they're using that time to watch the content they're most excited about.”

The study also found that Netflix is the dominant streaming platform, commanding up to 90% of those viewers who have multiple streaming platform options. Why? One possible reason is the choice of programming for which Netflix has heavily invested. Another, according to Erickson, is that Netflix was a first mover. “Everyone's heard of Netflix,” she posited, “If you're going to have a streaming service, you're going to have Netflix.” In addition, Netflix is known for a range of programming genres, thus appealing to a range of more potential viewers. “What we see is 60% of Netflix viewers associate the platform with three or more types of genres. By comparison, Prime Video, Disney+, Peacock and Max, majority of viewers associate them with two or fewer genres.” Essentially, “Netflix has done a great job of not just being there. They've done a great job of expanding the content they have so that they can be a little bit of everything to everyone. In the same way the TV used to be.”

Another finding that might be of concern to FAST networks is the decline in this platform for viewers. According to the study findings, about half of the sample said that they watched a FAST network in the last month -   down from about 60% previous studies. Again, this might be because the study polled in January when there were very competitive live events being streamed. However, for Erickson, this portends a trend. “It's hard for me to see where the FAST audience has room to grow. It's hard to create a really strong connection for FAST services because they don't subscribe and don't pay. You don't feel guilty for only using to be once a month.”

Involved is planning the next wave of this study in third quarter when they intend to incorporate Youtube premium, all forms of audio and short form video. “We're always looking to improve the study. It's an interesting field because the way people are engaging with media has become so different from person to person that we are constantly trying to figure out the best way to ask questions that everybody will be able to recognize themselves in the question,” she stated. Clarity is vital. “The way people engage with media becomes so distinct from each other.”

Finally, while Involved has fielded studies in Canada and the US, the plan is to expand the study into Australia enabling all of Involved Media’s three major markets available to their clients. From there it will be possible to compare markets internationally.

 

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler

 

The Intersection of Viewing, Buying and Selling With Comcast’s Advertising Report

The media landscape is not unlike a big jigsaw puzzle where disparate data needs to be interlocked and then interpreted in order to see the full picture of behaviors and results. Comcast has in its arsenal two long standing but separate studies on viewership and on advertising and has merged the results from these studies into the Comcast Advertising Report, now in its second year. This report enables a better understanding of the dynamics of viewership in tandem with advertising results. “We have access to a lot of data, whether it's viewership data or ad exposure data and we want to be able to share so everybody wins,” noted Travis Flood, Senior Director of Research for Comcast Advertising.

According to Flood, the merged data focuses on three industry tent poles – viewers, buyers and sellers. “We go through our data and see what have has repeatedly shown up that we think is interesting,” he explained. One big takeaway is that, “TV is still the foundation still drives the majority of reach. Streaming is an audience extension that we expect to grow over time. But the two of them are going to be very separate for a while. We're here to help leverage the advantages of both for our advertisers and for the marketplace.” However to the viewer, TV and streaming are both viewed on the same screen and are therefore considered somewhat the same.

One big takeaway was the viewers’ continued preference for the big screen. “We think that has benefit because that allows you to maximize the connection. Eighty-two percent of our streaming impressions are happening on the big screen. Last year it was 77%,” noted Flood.

Further, the study found that traditional TV continues to drive reach, with a caveat. “We still drive the majority of our reach with traditional television but maximizing incremental reach is a challenge in today's marketplace. How are you driving it? How much TV should I have? How much streaming? Should I buy addressable? Should addressable be the focus of my campaign or should it be a tactic on top of that? Then, because we work in a premium video environment, we look at types of customers and type of content. We want to maximize that connection,” he stated.

One of the big misconceptions among advertisers is that traditional TV is diminishing in impact. This is a mistake according to Flood because, “They're giving up on where they can maximize their reach. What we've seen is when people invest more in streaming, they get more to begin with, but after a point, as they invest even more in streaming, they start talking to the same people over and over again. There's a diminishing return at some point as you sacrifice linear reach for streaming frequency in a lot of cases.”

Finally, the growth of FAST services has accelerated. “Last year in this report, FAST was really an introduction. This year nearly half of all OTT impressions were served through FAST. That's a really important stat because it has significant volume to it,” he stated and added, “FAST services have been a way for viewers to engage in content in different ways.”

In last year’s study, “Share of reach for traditional TV was 82%. Nine percent came from streaming-only and 9% were reached by both,” he noted, “This year those same numbers, instead of 82, 9 and 9, are 78, 10 and 12. So you'd say, wow, it's still relatively strong for television but the streaming is up a third from what it was last year. We're seeing movement, but it's not drastic.”

When it comes to programmatic, “The space is growing every year but we see hesitance for a couple of reasons,” Flood said. ”Sellers may be wary about selling programmatically. They think it will degrade their content and downgrade the potential to maximize revenue. Buyers may not be set up to be programmatic in the same way that they find television today. How can you buy streaming or connected TV and programmatic? That's a different world. So we tend to talk about programmatic just being a way to buy in an automated way.”

Looking ahead, Flood sees a convergence between traditional TV and streaming but it will happen slowly over time. “You'll continue to see convergence of the two,” he posited. ”TV will become more like digital or streaming in the way it's bought with more targeting capabilities through things like addressable. Hopefully, you'll have a unified approach to measurement across both television and streaming especially as there is more first party data.” He added that, “Hopefully, industry collaboration will continue because in a world where you want TV to be more like digital, it requires a lot of groups to collaborate with one another. But it won’t happen on its own. The industry has to be behind it and help guide it through the process.”

Ultimately for advertisers who want to maximize their impact, “There is not a magic bullet or a one size fits all approach. You can't just do streaming or linear television. I wouldn't tell someone to just buy data driven linear - broad appeal versus very addressable. It's combination of all of those,” he noted.  “It's important to be talking to your customers who buy from you today as well as those who will buy from you tomorrow. For your current customers, have a message that's more addressable. For those in the future, concentrate on broader reach.” But since advertisers need to reach both current and future customers, “You essentially need both strategies together and once you implement those two strategies, you have that data driven techniques and you can split it up between TV and streaming,” he concluded.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler

Streaming Audio is the Perfect WFH Partner. Pandora and Mindshare Research Study

With many working from home in the past year, new audio consumption habits have been developed. For a company like Pandora, the question is, how have our listening habits changed over time? Is music still the dominating audio choice or are people gravitating to new formats such as podcasts? Pandora and Mindshare in partnership with Edison Research, launched a pivotal study in October 2020 to get to the core of America’s listening habits, particularly while working and how the pandemic has reshaped audio consumption.

To get a full grasp of the landscape, Edison conducted online interviews with adults 18+ who were employed either full or part time. These results were then compared with at-work studies conducted in 1997 and 2013. The 2020 study highlighted these emerging trends:

The Era of the Home Office is Here For 24 Hours a Day

While the work from home trend pre-dated Covid-19, it only represented 8% full time and 9% part time workers in 1997 and 2013. During the pandemic, it ballooned to 49% with higher income adults and parents of children over-indexing compared to all workers.  By contrast, Black Americans and lower-income adults are both 12% more likely to be currently working outside their home.

For those working from home, office hours have greatly expanded. It is no longer 9 to 5. Almost one in three Americans are currently working outside their normal work hours and their daily routines have been disrupted and often stressed.

Amidst Disruption, WFH is a Welcome Change … For Some 

Despite all of the pandemic shifts and stresses, those who can work from home are generally very satisfied with their employer (94%). However, this does not apply to everyone.  Black Americans are 38% more likely to be dissatisfied with their employer while Parents and Men are more likely to describe their employer as uncommunicative (130 index, 111 index) and impatient (146 index, 114 index), Further, Younger and Multicultural workers are more likely to describe their employer as more demanding right now (Gen Z: 147 index, Black: 111 index, Hispanics: 127 index).  

Work flexibility has become a high priority for workers (58%) giving them more time with family (65%), better work-life balance (58%), made them happier (56%) and more productive (55%), less stressed (50%) and more resourceful (50%). But that might depend on demographics and household composition. Many feel less connected to their co-workers (59%), find it harder to be a good parent (47%), have no separation between their work and home lives (46%), are working more hours (42%), are feeling more distracted (42%) or lonelier (41%).

Pandemic Parenting is Hard

While parenting can have its occasional challenges in normal time, the pandemic has brought on unique stress. Seventy percent of working parents say that they are also juggling their child’s at-home virtual learning and 6 in 10 of those with children learning at-home say that it has been difficult to balance work with virtual learning. Obviously, working Parents are especially likely to be feeling the pain from  juggling work with parenting including Women (118 index), Hispanics (111 index) and those with lower income (109 index).

Streaming Audio is a Welcome Activity

While media habits in general have evolved during the pandemic, streaming audio has been particularly successful.  The study found that 7 in 10 workers listen to any audio while working with higher levels for Gen Z (87%), Hispanics (82%), and Parents (79%). Audio has undergone a digital transformation. Compared to Edison Research’s 2013 at-work listening study, those who say they listen to streaming audio while working has grown by +57%, while those who listen to AM/FM radio while working has declined by -8%. Notably, other forms of digital audio are also experiencing growth during the pandemic – 41% of listeners are spending more time listening to podcasts, while 45% are spending more time listening to audiobooks.

Consumers Love Audio as a Mood Lifter

Audio is favored by consumers for a variety of reasons. The study found that it helps fill silence (71%), makes their workday go faster (69%), helps them escape (58%), makes them feel connected (52%), and provides a break from screens (50%). Audio also puts workers in a good mood (69%), help them stay focused (59%) and provides inspiration (52%).

And Audio Can Lead to Online Shopping Through Ads

Obviously, those who listen to audio are paying attention and are therefore more receptive to ads. Half of those who listen to streaming audio while working do so through an ad-supported service, meaning that there is significant opportunity for brands to reach and resonate with listeners during the workday. Many workers feel that they are even more receptive to ads while working; 37% of those who listen to ad-supported audio while working say that they pay more attention to streaming audio ads while they’re working than when they aren’t. Men, Gen Z, and Parents are more likely to agree.

Streaming audio ads have more impact and create a call to action. The study found that 45% of those who listen to ad-supported streaming audio while working have sought more info about a brand after hearing an online audio ad.

For marketers, the value and impact of streaming audio cannot be understated. Not only is this media form growing as more Americans work from home, its positive impact on daily life will continue to expand post pandemic as Americans enter a new normal.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

 

 

The Importance of Streamers. An Interview with Tubi’s Melinda Staros and Natalie Bastian

Since the pandemic, VOD has accelerated in its growth and acceptance among viewers, but its rapid progress is out-pacing our ability to assess its full impact on the media business. This is why Tubi’s recent study called, The Stream – 2021 Actionable Audience Insights for Brands, is a welcomed addition to our knowledge of the state and the future of AVOD for both advertisers and programmers.

The launch of this expansive study involved a partnership between Tubi, which is owned by FOX, and an impressive roster of first and third party data sources in order to match the quantitative with the qualitative results. For Tubi’s Natalie Bastian, Vice President Marketing, the study opened up, “a treasure trove of insights we had at our disposal because we are the platform and are so focused on data, tech and our audience. It is one of the best untold stories.”

The Stream, The Study

In offering an overview of the findings, Bastian explained, “The report looks at the broader shifts of content consumption, the rapid growth in streaming but specifically in AVOD and how AVOD is at a pivotal point of scale. We are going to see fundamental shifts in how brands are shifting their TV strategies especially going into upfront this year. Scale, targeting and measurement are all coming to a head. Because of our scale, (the results are) representative of the broader AVOD streaming audience.” The report is timed to maximize the value of AVOD in the upfront as an addition to linear. “This is our first proprietary research study,” she added, but not the last. The Stream is poised to be an ongoing assessment of the marketplace and the importance of AVOD in it. “This is our stamp and our voice,” regarding, “consumption and engagement and the reasons why consumers are gravitating to streaming platforms.”

The Stream, The Meta-Analysis

The study’s methodology was especially interesting to Melinda Staros, Tubi’s Director of Audience Research, “It was a meta-analysis of first party and third party data and our ability to thread that together. We used our first party audience data with all of our proprietary analytics – this was the first time we were using these to this scale.” The study also added Tubi’s qualitative research and, “all of the interviews we have done with our streamers for the past couple of years.” In addition, “We ran a custom B2B research study with Advertiser Perceptions,” which was then shared publicly and incorporated data from a number of different industry research sources such as MRI Simmons, TVSquared, Kantar and Nielsen. “There are many layers to peel back in this report,” she noted, “and it’s a compilation of all of these different methodologies and how they connect together.” The uniqueness of this study is its 360 degree holistic view of the industry.

The Stream, The Takeaways

For Staros, the study’s biggest takeaway, “has three layers. The first one is the industry where we found a discrepancy in the numbers. Seventy-nine percent of the people are streaming, growing daily and cutting the cord for cable. Streaming is so prevalent on the consumer side … and yet up to 90% of the video ad spend is still going to linear. There is a disconnection from the B2C side to the B2B side of the business.” But she is sure that will change in the next year. “From an audience perspective,” she continued, “it’s really the fact that it is incremental audience and that they are nationally representative. They are young and diverse as we see the national US population is. The industry isn’t necessarily used to that. The third is measurement. That is having substantial impact.”

For Bastian, an ah-ha insight was that, “When people in the marketplace talk about incremental reach the assumption is that it is incremental over linear TV. But what we found is that our audience is uniquely incremental to other streaming audiences as well.” She pointed out that while there is little overlap between Tubi and other AVOD audiences, there is some overlap between her service and Netflix which is not ad supported, thus enabling advertisers to reach those desirable audiences through Tubi. “We find that not only is our audience young, diverse and highly engaged, we can click into what they are watching, how long they are watching and when they are watching.” Tubi also boasts one of the lowest ad loads in TV – an average of 3 to 5 ads per hour.

The Stream, The Pandemic

While some industries have been negatively impacted by the pandemic, for Bastian, “The pandemic has across-the-board expedited the speed to stream for consumers.  It has accelerated launch efforts for other platforms to come to market,” but, she added, “I think that will level out over time. I think that over the next year, consumers will say, ‘wow, I’m spending so much money in streaming’… I think SVOD will level off and AVOD will continue to rise … especially free AVOD,” which includes Tubi.

“In terms of the numbers we are seeing, the pandemic has had a big impact on the sudden jump in the number of people streaming and the amount of time they spend streaming,” noted Staros who added, ”one in five people have cancelled their paid streaming service because of Covid and that was especially true of people ages 18-34 (at 33%) who tend to have lower household incomes and tend to be early adopters.”

The Stream, The Value to Advertisers and Programmers

For both Bastian and Staros, the value of AVOD and Tubi in particular to advertisers is a no-brainer.  Bastian explained that, “when you look at how linear and cable numbers are shifting and how streaming numbers are growing, you need to be able to diversify where you are spending your money.” She believes that buyers will pivot and make AVOD a must-buy with Tubi at the top of the list. “We have one of the largest, most engaged AVOD and we are nationally representative and we are highly targetable as well,” she stated.

For programmers, Staros shared that it is possible to take a program on linear that may skew older and, on a young platform like Tubi, age it down. “When FOX released the Masked Singer on its network, they had huge viewership, but it skewed significantly older,” she explained, “The big question was, if they put it on Tubi could they reach a younger audience or is the audience inherently older? The answer was that the platform dictates the type of viewership that you are going to get.”

The Stream, The Future

The future is bright for AVOD. “Streaming consumption is only going to continue … and in two years ad supported streaming will surpass cable … at a high level,” Bastian noted. The data supports this. “The more cord cutting, the more streaming, the more services, there are definite changes happening in the marketplace. The shift is really pronounced in that there are so many people who are not  going to be reachable through linear that at some point we are going to hit a threshold. They are saying by 2023,” Staros concluded. The future certainly looks exciting, especially for AVOD.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

 

 

Prepare for Generation Stream. Julie DeTraglia Showcases Hulu's Streaming TV Research

Generation Stream is Hulu’s term for those “culturesetters” who are on the forefront of cultural change and whose media consumption is mostly or completely streamed video. No longer gathered around the television set with family members, these individuals are best categorized as the harbingers of media-to-come. 

But who are they really? Hulu decided to find out by conducting a major study in April 2020. Julie DeTraglia, Head of Research for Hulu designed the study, first with a primary component that queried 20 diverse “Culturesetters” ages 16 to 44. Then, using insights gleaned from that group, she launched a national survey of 2,500+ diverse Gen Zs, Millennials and Gen Xers, ages 13 to 54. According to DeTraglia, “We tested trends and further explored streaming behavior and preferences. The result included an expansive multi-chapter report, testimonials and curated videos on streaming trends, types, behaviors, classifiers and reactions/preferences around advertising in streaming.”

Overall Trends

Generally speaking, DeTraglia found that the 13-54 year olds polled in the study were either heavy users of streaming services or intended to subscribe to a streaming service. This indicates a further advancement of streaming as a more dominant form of media consumption in the coming years. “Diving into the experiences and moods of Generation Stream further cements streaming TV as a foundational part of a viewer’s day,” she explained.  The study found that:

        90% view TV and movie content on a video streaming platform

        75% fill their media consumption time streaming or mostly streaming the video content

        Among non-streamers, 57% anticipate subscribing to a streaming service within the next 5 years

Generation Stream

Generation Stream is the prevailing consumer segment, representing 90% of all 13-54 year old Americans who stream content. And they love streaming content. According to the findings, 91% of Generation Stream would give up their music streaming service, social media, favorite food, favorite fashion item and favorite brand before they gave up their video streaming service. In fact, the only thing other than video streaming they aren’t willing to give up is their hair.

DeTraglia pointed out that, “The ripple effect of streaming is as powerful as it is universal. Virtually all (95%) of Generation Stream say streaming has changed their viewing experience in at least one way, from being able to binge content to having more control over their viewing experience to watching

niche content.” Streaming enables this cohort to watch totally on demand. “They are untethered from the 24-hour day, primetime slots, Nielsen ratings, or set commercial breaks, content has newfound wiggle room,” she added. But this brings with it added expectations for more left-of-center shows, more multidimensional characters, more bingeable seasons and generally more content. Over one-third (35%) of Generation Stream says, because of streaming, they watch more content than ever before it is changing their viewing behavior and expectations.

Diving down a little deeper, Generation Stream falls into three key segments of behaviors - Those who are Stream Only (37%), Stream Most (47%) and Stream Also (16%).For Hulu specifically, 86% of Hulu subscribers fall into the top two groups - Stream Only (41%) and Stream Most (45%).

The way Generation Stream uses streaming services fall into four behavioral types:  

1.       Classic: These viewers tend to stream content in the same manner as people watch traditional TV—at set times, with family, friends or a partner and as part of a daily routine.

2.       Curated: This group is more selective in their streaming content, centering on intelligent, niche and global content that is more than just pure entertainment. They tend to favor shows and movies that spur a cultural conversation to connect them with like-minded communities.

3.       Therapeutic: This group favors streaming content that is more meditative and therapeutic, presumably because it reminds them of childhood, or enables them to lightly reflect.

4.       Indulgent: This group favors streaming content that is totally immersive. They enjoy being fully consumed with shows, ‘holing up’ for a weekend solo to binge through several seasons of a favored program.

The results of this study will help inform the industry going forward. “The insights in this report uncover what inspires and moves this audience, so that Hulu and our partners can connect with them in meaningful ways, with content, brands and advertising. By exploring this coveted audience, who has been watching TV in a streaming environment for over a decade, ‘Generation Stream’ helps us understand the why, who and how of streaming TV viewers, and will continue to do so in the coming reports,” she concluded.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Epoll Study Finds that Streaming Hardware is Critical to Success

A recent study by Epoll found that streaming hardware is vitally important to consumers as part of their enjoyment of content. The study concludes that, “with cord-cutting becoming a reality for more consumers today, devices that connect to these services will need to appeal to the masses.”

An example of this phenomena is Roku which, according to eMarketer, has more users than any other streaming device (excluding smart TVs) at 86.2M in the U.S. Compare this to the E-Score Brand survey, where Roku has the highest Appeal score at 49%, with close to a third of consumers (31%) agreeing that Roku is better than competitors.
Other takeaways include:

• Streaming devices are mainly used to watch shows and movies but some have additional features such as games and music. For those reasons, Roku is considered most Entertaining (41%) followed by Amazon Fire TV (39%)
• Other features such as voice activation, 4K resolution, game controller support, (Xbox/Playstation) and brand ecosystem are things users also find valuable. Apple TV leads for Innovative (27%) and Amazon Fire TV Stick (23%) and Apple TV (22%) are considered more Cutting Edge than Google Chromecast (16%) and Roku (15%).
• As streaming devices are fighting to be the hardware of choice for cord-cutters, Apple TV’s early rollout gives it a slight advantage as being High Quality, Innovative and Cutting Edge while the others in the space have higher Appeal than Apple TV. Consumer comments suggest Apple’s premium pricing ($150-$200) may be difficult to justify for most consumers compared to Roku ($30-$100) and Chromecast ($35-$70).

This article first appeared in Cynopsis.

How AI and Machine Learning Are Impacting Media

New technology and how it is transforming traditional media was the main focus at the recent Streaming Media East conference. There’s no doubt AI and machine learning are impacting media, and according to a panel of experts, it will be a boon to both consumers and the media business.

Nadine Krefetz, a consultant with Reality Software, noted that, “Machine learning and AI are more buzzy than ever.” The reasons why media should be focusing on these protocols include the need to harness huge amounts of data, stitch together all of the complex parts inherent in the data sources and automate the cost efficiencies and time.

According to Gabriella Mirabelli, EVP Consumer Insights and Brand Strategy, Valance Media, AI is the technique that creates human learning using logic. She noted that Machine Learning is a subset of AI that uses, “complex statistical techniques to improve tasks that the technology can do.” Another subset of AI is Deep Learning that “uses algorithms to help the machine train itself.” In sum, AI uses human intelligence while machine learning uses data to predict outcomes.

What AI Can Do
When applied to media, these systems enable smooth processing and understanding of the mountains of data now available to marketers. For Mirabelli, we are advancing into, “an Era of Insight from the Era of Data,” where there is greater complexity and too much data for humans alone to handle. She uses these systems to make buy decisions and to answer unique questions. For Field Garthwaite, Co-Founder and CEO, Iris.tv, these systems can be used to improve the customer experience and, for Thomas Ohanian, Global Sales Executive, IBM Watson, the underlying technology that these solutions depend upon enables speech to text, object recognition, voice and other interactive elements by “reducing human tasks and gleaning insights from content.”

What AI is Doing Now
Sports are a ripe area for AI. Ohanian explained that fewer people are going to events at the stadium, preferring to watch on the glass. AI offers real time insights by using algorithms to assess “intent, reaction and gestures to build interesting and timely sports highlights.” It is an instantaneous way to “pick plays, players, matches and play types through automatic curation which is very sticky,” to reduce the bounce rate and help editors find relevant content quickly.

Nikki Conley, Cloud Solution Architect, Microsoft, offered another perspective. Mistakes can be corrected or monetized. A recent Game of Thrones episode erroneously had a Starbucks cup in the frame. “If we ran through an analysis and saw the cup, we could remove it … or ask Starbucks for advertising support,” instead of inadvertently giving them $2.3 billion in free advertising. AI enables the ability to “look for occurrences in content in post-production with extensive tagging.”
From amassing data to curating content to correcting mistakes to providing an overall better experience for viewers and more profitable opportunities for advertisers, the future is now for AI in media.

This article first appeared in Cynopsis.

The Latest Trends from Nielsen’s Total Audience Report

Nielsen just released their findings from their latest quarterly Nielsen Total Audience Report (3Q18) which shows continued audience shifting and digital transformation in content preferences and streaming services. The report, according to Nielsen, contains, insights on how people are choosing the content that they’re streaming, as well as a section that examines which attributes of streaming services are the most important to consumers as well updates on traditional and digital media platform usage.

The highlights include:

Streaming Devices and Services Continue to Grow September 2017 to 2018

• Enabled smart TV penetration grew to 41% in 2018 from 32% in 2017 as users continue to replace their older television sets. Enabled smart TV ownership had the largest year-over-year growth for all races and ethnicities
• Internet enabled TV-connected devices — enabled smart TVs, internet connected devices (i.e. Apple TV, Roku, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV), and enabled game consoles—are in 68% of U.S. households, up from 63%.
• Streaming Video on Demand (SVOD) content is in 67% of television households, compared to 61% one year ago. Year over year growth is occurring among households of all races and ethnicities. Eight out of ten Asian American, seven out of ten Hispanic, and six out of ten Black households subscribe to an SVOD service.
• But there is only so much time in a day. U.S. Adults spend 10 hours and 30 minutes per day connected to media, the same amount as one year ago.

While Adoption of Newer Devices Has Increased, So Has Their Usage—Regardless of Age.

• Time spent on TV-connected devices and app/web on smartphones increased across all demographic groups. Time per day on smartphones increased by 23 minutes for adults 18-34, more than any other group or platform. And even older demographic group’s share of daily time spent with TV-connected devices and app/web on a smartphone increased from Q3 2017 to Q3 2018.
• Adults 18-34 spend over one-third of their daily media usage on smartphones while Adults 50-64 spend more time per day on media in general than any other age group.

Inundated with Choice, Streaming Video and Audio Users Are Making Their Preferences Known.

• According to the MediaTech Trender Survey, two-thirds of audio (67%) and video streaming (66%) users are influenced by recommendations from family and friends when making streaming selections. Meanwhile, 67% of video streaming users and 56% of audio streaming users refer back to existing programming they used to watch or listen to on broadcast media as that content is now more accessible.
• Users want access to a broad variety of content (57%) while using technology and an interface that is easy to navigate (56%). Niche content is also desirable, as 43% want access to local programming, 38% are looking for specific networks, and 35% want the ability to stream live sports.

This article first appeared in www.Cynopsis.com

Live From the Livefronts

The first question I had when I received the invitation to the Livefronts was, “What are the Livefronts?” I soon learned that this is the very first conferences dedicated to the delivery, reportage and sales of live streaming regularly scheduled programming. This is a growing category of programming hastened by the increasing number of platforms from which to create and stream content.

The Livefronts offered an opportunity for a collection of producers and creators of live programming to fully explore the nature of their ecosystem and how it contributes and enriches (and in some cases competes with) the larger media environment through its use of established and expanding platforms such as Facebook Live, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube. It is a growing and innovative sector of the industry and has the potential to change the way viewers interact with content and the way we valuate that interaction. 

Al Roker, TV personality and weather forecaster for NBCU’s Today Show, has become a force within the regularly scheduling live streaming marketplace and launched his own company called Roker Media to advance the cause. He is excited by the immediacy and unpredictability of the live programming format. “What really seems to be resonating with viewers and consumers of video is live programming. And not just live, for live's sake. But thoughtful, engaging, interesting programming with people that folks want to watch on a regularly scheduled basis with the spontaneity and unpredictability that live programming brings to the table,” he said. “Some of the best moments that I've been involved with in my 40+ years of television have happened live. They can't be planned, they can't be predicted. But if you put the right ingredients together, with the right people, there's a very good chance that good stuff happens,” he added.

Mark McIntire, CMO Roker Media, noted that "live streaming regularly scheduled programming is comparatively new. We are seeing that people are fascinated by the possibilities of interactivity and the opportunities it creates for brands and programmers.” Jesse Redniss, Co-Founder BRaVe media, noted that the reason for the Livefronts was partly because the market is moving quickly after the Newfronts and the opportunity is there “to take live streamed programming and make things happen, monetize it, track it and measure it.”

Sports Is Premium Live Streaming Content … But TV is Still King

Jim Bell, Executive Producer of NBC Olympics, is seeing a cultural shift in how viewers are consuming Olympics content. He noted that, “It is a daunting and crazy moment in our future.” The Rio Olympics had its share of challenges including the zika virus, politics, crime and water pollution. But the NBCU Rio coverage saw great success, according to Bell. “It was our most consumed Olympics ever,” he announced. “There was more available content than ever, the most dominant social Olympics than ever before and the most profitable,” he added.

The amount of content available from an event like the Olympics has grown exponentially. “Twenty years ago in Atlanta there was a grand total 170 hours of the Olympics,” stated Bell. “Fast forward twenty years and 170 hours has grown to nearly 7000 hours of content at the Rio Olympics,” he added. Curiously while 200 billion minutes of Olympic content were consumed from NBCU’s various platforms, only 3% of the content was consumed on digital according to Bell. The rest was consumed on cable and broadcast. “Digital represents growth and our content will be focused on digital going forward. But I was simultaneously confused and amused by the level (of digital viewing for Rio) We are still here!” he exclaimed.

What About Measurement?

The issue of measurement looms large in this programming sector. Unless we find ways of crediting viewing, exposures, engagement and other forms of consumption, the ability to fully monetize the inventory is hampered. Bell noted that, “Nielsen is still the standard by which things are measured. Does it make sense all the time? No but it is what we've got. It is an accepted measurement.”

Do we base audiences on social behaviors like shares and likes? Some believe that this indicates engagement. David Wong, SVP Digital Product Development at Nielsen explained that, “The good thing about live programming is that it is easy to measure. It is consumed in a limited time frame while on demand can go on forever. The number of views is a great measurement for live because views are an on demand type of measure. Average view by minute is relevant for an advertiser.”

Concentrate On Providing Great Content According to the Platform
Will Funk, EVP Sales and property Partnerships, Turner, noted that “People will go to the best available screen,” to view content. In the case of digital, there are a range of platforms that viewers can use to consume content. And content creation can be fluid and happily unexpected when it is live. Clark Pierce, SVP, TV Everywhere at Fox Sports, shared a moment of content serendipity. Fox was interviewing Pete Rose for a digital video when, according to Pierce, ”Pete Rose listed six things you can do when you are in a slump. This went viral and it was a beautiful thing.”

Rich Greenfield, Managing Director, Media and Technology Analyst BTIG asked his panel the question as to whether content owners should develop their own delivery platforms. Borja Perez, SVP Digital and Social Media, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, explained that “there is a difference between being a content provider and a platform. We are a content producer and we won't be good at building platforms. Our job is to create the content. Platforms will come and go. We should work with the available platforms and concentrate on how our content works on those platforms.”

Conclusion

Today’s live streaming regularly scheduled content may hearken back to the early days of television but with its potentially global reach and device-centered immediacy, it is unlike anything our industry has faced before. How we as an industry compile, create, deliver, measure and sell this content will decide what thrives and what doesn’t in the next few years. Stay tuned.

This article first appeared in www.MediaBizbloggers.com