As Netflix, Hulu and other streaming portals emerge, traditional TV is finding itself under increased pressure to retain its place on top of the media food chain. While it is still the most used medium by a wide margin, there are signs that indicate its future may not look quite as bright.
As figures from Nielsen’s quarterly Total Audience report indicate, young Americans are watching less and less TV. Since Q1 2011, the time Americans aged 12-17 spent watching TV has dropped by more than 25%. In the most recent quarter, teenagers spent an average of 17 hours and 52 minutes a week watching live TV, down from more than 24 hours in the first quarter of 2011.
You will find more statistics at Statista
This is the best news so far. People have given up on CNN, MSNBC, and the other shill channels.
TV sucks, and it has sucked for at least 30 years, probably forever. This is good news.
IMO these stats are misleading – note that it says “live” TV. People are consuming more media than ever, it’s just via different devices and at different times (I.e. via DVR, youtube, Hulu, etc.) When was the last time you were out in public and DIDN’T see 90% of the kids with their faces buried in their smartphones?
This is a step in the right direction, imagine how many of those teens would be gender confused if they watched a great deal of the sick crap that is on tv daily.
Persnickety, there have been some great shows throughout the years. X Files, Stargate Atlantis, Babylon 5, In Search Of, Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, Andy Griffith Show etc. Got rid of tv years ago and don’t regret it. They don’t make them like they used to. TV is 95% commercials.
Don’t forget Barnaby Jones and Cannon.
Anything with Tricia Helfer in it.
Most times I screw up and the image is huge, I hope I hope I hope…..
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Yay!
But yeah, I cut the cord four years ago. No time to watch sports so nothing but Netfix and DVD’s, hate commercials.
Tricia is in a cancelled series called Ascension, last night was a bare ass view with a bit of side boob, for 40 years old, nummy…..
As a former ad agency founder/operator and radio station programmer, I can tell you the biggest problem encountered by both TV and Radio is very short attention spans. Most millenials don’t even listen to one song all the way through. They’ll watch a youtube clip, but not a complete program.
The other problem ad supported TV is facing is the DVR, since you can skip past the commercials entirely. I’ve noticed the “on demand” version of the tv programs do not allow skipping through the commercials, however the commercials in that version of the program are sold separately from those inserted on the broadcast version.
IMHO when TV went digital it lost much of the “over the air” audience since the digital signals are much lower power than the analog signals were. This move pushed a lot of business toward the cable operators since without a cable connection you just can’t receive over the air TV any longer.
Westy, having resided in the AV for 35 years, I have been used to paying for cable every month, religiously, whether I need it or not. Recently, the church lady said she wanted to save money, she did not want to pay the bumped up fee of $150. We have resisted going the way of using a cell phone in lieu of home phone. It’s just so hard to say goodbye to that little used home apparatus.
She called the cable company to request a discount. No go. Son called, they promised him a free HBO upgrade and a $300 gift card. A couple of weeks later, they said we don’t qualify for the gift card because we got the movie deal. A couple of weeks later, the church lady says she will not pay the current bill until I cancel. I have been dragging my feet on this because the internet is bundled into the package with the phone and tv. I call TWC, they say, Your getting a good deal and there’s that $300 gift card. Oh really, can you email the code to me? Sure. I have to register for the gift card, wait three months without changing the terms of my service. You can check the progress of your gift card online.
Two weeks later, I check again. It says I failed to keep up with the terms of the agreement and don’t qualify. I call TWC, I tell the dude that I got screwed and was screwed even before I registered because the church lady was late with her payment by 17 days. He promises to put in a request for review because – ‘you’ve had a great payment record for years’. No shit. Two days later a woman calls and leaves a message on my little used home phone that we only use to make sure we don’t miss any robo calls, ‘you don’t qualify for the gift card’. Bitch.
Meanwhile, I bought a small antenna that is basically 2 clothes hangers hooked up in a loop. I also got an amp from HD. I test it inside my garage using my tree trimmer extension to lift it up into the attic portion of the garage. It works great getting 3 channels from Bakersfield or 2 KCET channels from LA. I peruse wikipedia and digest a short history of the Mt Wilson Observatory while considering buying a larger – fringe – antenna to capture the signals from Mt Wilson towers. Even though I am only 35 miles north of the transmitters there is too much ground clutter. Damn mountains, no wonder the San Gabriel Indians left the place, bad tv reception.
Bea Lever: Can’t wait for Bruce Jenner to fall in love with a man or woman and see what they call it: “normal” hetero, lesbian, LGBT love, modern love? Westcoaster: I live 25 miles from town and “HD” reception of their ads & leftist junk is very bad now; I gave up. :
Card, that thing looks anorexic, I’ll take two. No, that would only double my disappointment. Two skinny frogs. WTF happened to the old 36-24-36 template? Now it’s 26-24-26, oh well as long as it’s not a CWD.
EC and Bob Siddell
I have to be thrifty as I have two homes that I live in every week and a Office condo so cable tv is too expensive in three locations. We have not had cable for six years and we DON’T miss it at all.
We have had great luck with HD TV out of the air using the (Winegard Flatwave Amped HDTV Antenna) and Amazon Fire TV, Logitech Google TV, and smart tv’s.
We are also 25 miles from the city in our main house and get 40+ channels with the Winegard Antenna, the key is that it is amped ( plugged in to electric outlet). You can get these antennas on Amazon for around $27. Netflix and Amazon or Hulu can provided more content than you could ever watch and use the browser for youtube and internet site content. Also you can purchase Showtime for $10 a month if you want. We pay $8 a month to watch Netflix , Amazon was a gift.
So, after you purchase the antenna and Netflix, you could be paying only $8 per month to watch tv. I highly recommend this.
EC – There are outside models that run about $80.00 that you could put on top of the house or pole to pick up HDTV since you have mountains to deal with……….forgot to add that above.
Actually, they were watching the last play in the last Super Bowl.
The worst play call of all time causing cheaters Tom Brady & Belichick to win another tainted ring. I had the same look, then shot my TV like Elvis.
Typo. It wasn’t my TV. I doubt I’ll be invited to next year’s party.
Thank you, Bea. I am learning more than I ever cared about antennas as I slouch towards free tv. I just about pulled a Homer Simpson – antennas can do that? – because AV folks are strangers to free tv unless they are the troglodytes from the surrounding communities of Boron, Trona, or Mojave.
EC- Good luck, I know you can master this tv thing if you just hunker down and do it. When you are saving all of that money every month you can afford that second wife we talked about now that SCOTUS has given the seal of approval. Forward !
The bible says seven wives, each paying their own way. Are you stocked up on Viagra, Bea?