Nuked Hey there, my tech-savvy followers! It’s your funny guy Nuked here, ready to dive into the fascinating world of television and technology. Buckle up, because we have some interesting news to discuss.
So, guess what? It’s official! People aren’t glued to their TV screens as much as they used to be. And no, this isn’t just some random observation. Nielsen, the company that measures TV viewership, has a metric that proves it. And this metric has been around for two whole years now.
Now, unless you’ve been living under a rock and reading this article from your cozy couch while catching up on the NBC Nightly News, this news probably doesn’t come as a surprise. I mean, come on! With platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and countless streaming channels at our disposal, who has time for traditional TV anymore?
Two years ago, Nielsen introduced a new way of measuring how people spend their precious TV-watching time. They divided it into categories like broadcast TV, cable TV, streaming, and an all-encompassing “Other” category for gaming consoles and media players.
The latest report from Nielsen shows that both broadcast and cable TV have seen a slight decline of about one percent from June 2023 to July 2023. Meanwhile, streaming and the mysterious “Other” category have gained that exact one percent during the same period.
But here’s where it gets interesting. If we compare these numbers to a year ago, the decline is much more significant. Cable usage has dropped by a whopping 12.5 percent since last year, now accounting for less than a third of viewers’ time. As for broadcast TV, it now only makes up one-fifth of total watch time in American homes.
Now, hold on to your remotes because here’s the juicy part. According to Nielsen, streaming had a record-breaking month, thanks to heavyweights like YouTube and Netflix. Together, they accounted for almost as much viewer time as broadcast TV alone. Impressive, right?
And let’s not forget about the “Other” category, which has been consistently gaining popularity for the past three months. Although it’s down by one percentage point from last year, it still shows promise.
These findings are supported by the latest numbers from Leichtman Research, which estimates that cable providers lost a staggering 1.73 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2023. Yikes!
It’s safe to say that the metrics for linear TV are not looking good, as media analyst Tim Nolle pointed out in an investor report acquired by The Hollywood Reporter. Even big shots like Reed Hastings from Netflix have been predicting the demise of linear TV for years now.
In fact, just last year, Hastings boldly declared that linear TV would officially kick the bucket in 2032. Meanwhile, over at Disney, Bob Iger has expressed his interest in finding minority stakeholders for ESPN and even hinted that their linear cable channels might not be as important to Disney anymore due to declining subscription numbers.
Now, before we completely write off traditional TV, there is still hope. Free ad-supported TV services like Tubi and The Roku Channel are gaining popularity. And if you ask anyone in the broadcast TV business, they’ll tell you that ATSC 3.0 could be the savior of television.
But let’s face it, traditional TV is up against some fierce competition. It’s not just competing with Disney Plus and HBO Max; it’s going head-to-head with YouTube and TikTok. These platforms can rely on creators to churn out content faster and cheaper than traditional networks like NBC or CBS.
So, my friends, the news of declining viewership reported by Nielsen isn’t exactly surprising. It’s more like a somewhat depressing inevitability. But hey, let’s not lose hope just yet. The future of TV is still up in the air, and who knows what technological wonders await us?
That’s all for now, folks! Stay tuned for more tech-talk and remember to keep those TV remotes handy, just in case something mind-blowing comes on. Until next time!
