Sunday, June 25, 2006

TV watching is becoming a lonely habit - advertisers watch out

45% of TV watchers do so alone these days compared to 33% 10 years ago.

 

Interesting but the truth is that I have almost stopped watching TV at all – at least live TV is now almost zero since having digital recording a few years ago.

 

Screen watching – yes but more likely to be home cinema movies or a few minutes of a pre-recorded comedy, and occaisionally TV news.  Hardly ever watch the main TV channels.

 

I’m not alone – ask anyone who actually works in television how many hours they watch for pleasure and the results may really shock you.  Often the answer is zero.

 

Now radio – that is something different – audiences and hours per week continue to climb.

 

TV will struggle to find a new role in the next decade, under pressure from people like the BBC which will soon have all their archives on line for instant free view.

 

It means the schedules will need to rethink…. Expect to see a premium for live TV:  where we know anything can go wrong and audiences can be involved.

 

But canned output – yes it still will live on as a community experience.  It is different watching a film on your own at home when you know a million others may be sharing the same event.

 

For more see http://www.globalchange.com/ppt4/bbc

 

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