Study shows networks are losing viewers to their cell phones
Study shows networks are losing viewers to their cell
phones
By Claire Atkinson June 5, 2017 | 10:37pm
TVs are quickly becoming viewers’ second screen — a
phenomenon made crystal-clear as networks aired their season finales last
month.
The live ratings for the shows — across all networks
tumbled 30 and 40 percent from a year ago as viewers more and more turned to
their mobile devices for entertainment.
The the result are coming at a very inopportune time: as
networks begin to talk their book to Madison Avenue, which is about to place
some $70 billion in TV ad commitments.
Only six of 61 returning network show finale episodes saw
an uptick in ratings versus the prior year, according to Nielsen numbers for
live plus same-day TV viewing in the 18-to-49-year-old category.
Everywhere else, it can only be described as a bloodbath.
“Quantico,” starring Priyanka Chopra, is ABC’s biggest
loser in the demo category, off some 43.3 percent versus last year’s
season-finale episode. The show has lost viewers, in part, because its time
slot has shifted.
At CBS, the finale of the perennially popular “Big Bang
Theory” fell 19.2 percent in the demo — and it wasn’t the network’s biggest
loser.
That distinction belongs to “NCIS” — now absent actor
Michael Weatherly, who played Anthony DiNozzo — which lost 43.6 percent of its
audience compared to a year ago.
The networks are waiting for the delayed viewing numbers,
called C3, which add back in recorded playbacks of shows within a three-day
period. They will boost ratings next week, but live ratings remain the most
immediate gauge of who’s winning the time periods.
“There’s a real reason people pay a fortune to be in live
sports, and why networks are doing live musicals. Advertisers want live. You
are watching, and you are engaged,” said Billie Gold, vice president director
of programming at ad agency Amplifi.
The CW show “Reign” saw its finale fall 30.8 percent.
Gold says it had a better lead-in last year — part of the reason for the
decline in the end-of-season rating.
The network’s “Vampire Diaries” grew, perhaps, because of
a March finish versus May during the prior season.
“Empire,” Fox’s big hit, is also losing steam, declining
39.1 percent versus the year-ago finale number.
“Rosewood” fell 59.7 percent. Fox did see a few finales
improve on their last year, including “Bones,” and Gordon Ramsay’s “Hell’s
Kitchen.”
NBC’s finales also got lumped up, with Jennifer Lopez’
“Shades of Blue” tumbling 35.5 percent versus a 2016 March finale — perhaps
contributing to the lower 2017 ratings. The network’s “Chicago Med” fell 30.7
percent.
Media consultant Brad Adgate says TV news continues to be
a problem for entertainment ratings. “The news continues to be unrelenting in
its ability to attract viewer’s attention; I think that’s hurting them,” he
said.
In a report out June 2, Barclays media analyst Kannan
Venkateshwar noted that the average person watched 2.5 hours on a smartphone in
the fourth quarter — up from 1.3 hours a year earlier. That compared with 4.9
hours on TV.
For viewers in the demo, the smartphone was more popular
than TV, something he called a “considerable shift” in consumption patterns.
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