NEW YORK—While live sports continues to be a mainstay of TV programming and a reliable producer of large audiences, a new survey from consumer research platform Attest indicates that live TV viewing continues to fall out of favor with consumers, particularly younger viewers.

Attest’s sixth annual “U.S. Media Consumption Report,” which covers how Americans consume television, audio, news and social media, found the share of consumers watching three or more hours of TV of any type per day stands at 56% in 2025, down from 61% last year and 63% the year before. The most committed TV watchers are those aged 50 to 67, (66% of whom watch at least three hours a day).

Live TV bore the brunt of the showdown. Slightly less than three in ten consumers (28%) of consumers said they generally don't watch any live TV on an average day (up from 24% last year and 20% in 2023), with even high percentages avoiding live TV among younger viewers.

A hefty 41% of under-30s reported that they typically don’t watch live TV (versus 27% of 31-49s and 20% of over-50s). Under-30s who do watch live TV are most likely to say they watch it for between 30 minutes to one hour per day.

The survey also found that viewing times for streaming services have also decreased, with a 4 percentage-point decline in people watching for three or more hours, and a corresponding increase in those streaming in one- to two-hour viewing sessions.

A third of consumers now stream TV for one to two hours per day, the researchers said. People under the age of 30 watch the most, with one quarter typically viewing programming on a streaming TV platform for one to two hours a day and another quarter chalking up three to four hours per day.

The survey also provided some specific data on individual streamers. After suffering a 9-point decline in regular viewers last year, according to Attest’s data, Netflix has only managed to regain a couple of percentage points. Overall, about 64% of consumers say they watch Netflix at least once a week.

The research found that Prime Video and Disney+ have enjoyed the most growth, both increasing weekly viewers by four percentage points. Sitting at 49%, Prime Video now enjoys its highest percentage of weekly viewers since Attest has been measuring this data point, while Disney+ is yet to surpass its 2023 peak of 38% (currently at 35%).

Other TV streamers remain more or less static, aside from Max, which has recorded a 4 percentage point loss to 25%. This compounds the previous year’s loss, when viewership fell from 33% to 29%. Apple TV+, meanwhile, continues to struggle to secure any meaningful U.S. market share, watched weekly by just 12%.

Looking at the viewing profile of different streamers, 18-to-30-year-olds are the top viewers of Netflix (77%), Hulu (57%) and Disney+ (46%). Consumers aged 31 to 49 dominate Prime Video (55.5%), Paramount+ (31%), YouTube TV (19%) and Apple TV+ (13.5%). Meanwhile, Peacock, Apple TV+ and Sling have a fairly even age distribution, the study found.

In terms of digital news, young Americans are accessing digital content less regularly: 41% of the 18-30 demo now views digital news at least once a week (a decline of 7 percentage points from last year), while 20% read digital magazine content weekly.

The over-50s are the biggest consumers of digital news, with 66% accessing it weekly, an increase of 6 percentage points. This age group is also more likely to be viewing digital magazine content than previously (weekly viewing is up four percentage points to 20%), but it’s 31-to-49-year-olds who read the most: 27% access it at least once a week.

Men are also more likely to access both news (60% vs. 54% for women), and magazine content (27% vs. 20% of women) on a weekly basis.

While the survey once again documented the ongoing decline of traditional media like TV, radio and newspapers, it also found declines in social media usage, particularly in the over-30 demo and among heavy social media users who spend more than three hours a day with the platforms.

The percentage of consumers spending three plus hours on social media per day has decreased by 6.5 percentage points to 30%. The decline comes primarily from Americans aged 31 to 49, who have cut back on three-hour-plus sessions for a second year running (down by 10 percentage points to 27%). This age group has significantly slashed long scrolling sessions since 2023, when 45% spent more than three hours on social per day. Now, they’re most likely to say they spend one to two hours online per day.

Consumers under 30s have also reduced the amount of time they spend online, recording a seven percentage point drive in sessions over three hours since last year. However, a sizable 46% still spend long durations on social platforms each day. Looking at just how much time 18 to 30s spend scrolling, Attest sees 21% spend three to four hours, 16% spend five to six hours and an addicted 9% spend more than six hours a day.

Older Americans (aged 50-67) typically spend up to an hour on social media each day, and only 21% spend more than three hours. When it comes to the biggest doomscrollers, women are three times more likely than men to spend six or more hours a day on social platforms (10% versus 3%). Interestingly, consumers with a lower household income are also notably more likely to indulge in long social sessions than higher earners (33% versus 22% spend over three hours a day).

All the social media platforms in Attest’s survey failed to chalk up growth in daily users over the last year—with TikTok being the singular exception. TikTok has increased daily users by 5 percentage points to 30%. Meanwhile, X and Facebook have both suffered small losses: daily usage of X has fallen by 4 percentage points to 16%, and by three percentage points to 52% for Facebook.

This move puts Facebook on a par with YouTube for daily users. But when Attest combines daily users with people who visit at least three times a week, the data finds that YouTube is striding ahead as the nation's most popular platform (71% versus Facebook’s 65%).

Looking at movement in the use of social platforms by different demographics, the data sees 18-to-30-year-olds are responsible for TikTok’s growth, with a 12 percentage-point increase in daily users among this age group (to 53%). This makes TikTok as popular as Instagram for the under 30s. BeReal, on the other hand, has fallen off the radar with only 2% of under-30s using it daily, and 82% never using it.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H.—Live TV continues to be the most common default source for TV viewers, but its once commanding lead over SVODs has shrunk dramatically over the past five years, according to Hub’s annual “Decoding The Default” survey. 

The issue of where consumers launch their TV services from is important because viewers are most loyal to the sources they go to first. Live TV has always been the most popular starting point, but its share has dropped in recent years to a 46% share. In contrast SVODs and smart TV apps have shown rapid gains, with the top 5 SVOD apps now being the starting point for 40% of consumers and all other SVOD apps accounting for 5%. 

That indicates SVOD is only one percentage share point behind live TV, the Hub study found. 

 The Hub researchers also noted that the increasing availability of live content on online platforms is likely helping live TV retain its top spot as a default source. That's because online sources have widened their lead over set-top boxes as a first stop.  Online nearly doubles set-top boxes as a default source of TV viewing. Plus, the gap has increased from only 13 points two years ago to 28 points in 2013.

In just the past two years, smart TV apps have caught up with set-top boxes as viewers’ starting point. In 2021, almost twice as many viewers started to watch through a set-top box as chose a built-in smart TV app. Currently, however, those two sources are on par as the default, the researchers said, adding that it is noteworthy that viewers are sticking with their connected devices, which have shown no decline as a home base over the past two years.

The Hub study also found that live sports and news are critical in the decision to use MVPDs and vMVPDs as default viewing sources.

The study also found that consumers are considerably more loyal to their default TV sources: A majority of those who default to a Big 5 SVOD or live TV on an MVPD say it is the provider they would retain if they could keep only one, the study found. 

“In order for providers to retain customers in the competitive streaming video marketplace, it’s critical to be a first choice for viewing,” said Mark Loughney, senior consultant to Hub. “As viewers are increasingly defaulting to online video sources and relying on apps as a starting point, it’s essential to be among those that are installed on smart TV menus.”

LAUSANNE, Switzerland—iWedia, a major provider of software components and solutions for connected TV devices, has announced that it is working with Google to develop and deliver a Live TV application for Google TV and other Android TV OS devices. 

Premium licensed app is being developed to improve the user experience and enable TV manufacturers to add more value and increase revenue streams, the companies said. 

 “We are honored that Google has partnered with iWedia to deliver this ambitious project, which involves the design, development and integration of complex broadcast TV functionality, as well as multi-country certification,” Hans-Jürgen Desor, CEO, iWedia, said,  “With a modern, user-friendly UI and options for brands to add value as well as increase revenues, we know that this app – which has already won the confidence of both Google and Skyworth - will meet and even exceed the needs of both TV manufacturers and end users.” 

The Live TV app, which is set to begin roll-out in Europe in the coming months, has already been licensed by Shenzhen Chuangwei-RGB Electronics Co.,Ltd., one of the largest TV manufacturers in the world. 

Live TV is one of the most used applications on Android TV OS devices. Following feedback from end users, Google wanted to update and improve the user experience and give more value to TV brands, the companies said. 

As well as basic features such as an EPG guide, channel list and parental controls, the Live TV app will deliver major new features upon launch, including:

• Branding options for TV brands, with customizable look and feel
• User friendly design and navigation
• Rich metadata (optional add-on)
• Voice Control with Google Assistant 
• Deep linking with streaming services (in roadmap)
• Seamless integration with Google TV’s Live TV tab

The Live TV App will be enabled in different territories in stages, with the first deployment planned in Europe in Q4 2022. The App will also be made available as part of efforts to scale Android TV OS for STB suppliers that target specific retail markets in Europe. 

BOSTON, Mass.—While live linear TV viewing continues to decline, a new study from the Hub is reporting that across the entire TV viewer base, live TV from a traditional pay TV service remains the most common first stop for viewing. 

Hub’s annual “Decoding the Default” study, which tracks the TV source that consumers turn on first when they’re ready to watch, found that 28% of respondents say that linear channels from a cable, satellite, or telco TV subscription is their TV home base. Netflix is a close second, at 23%, while no other individual source reaches double digits.

Nearly two in five (39%) respondents, however, reported that they started viewing at one of the top six streaming services, the study found.   

Only 5% started with an over-the-air broadcast service, about the same as the 5% who started with a virtual MVPD. 

But the researchers stressed that live TV has been dropping steadily as a default source over the past seven years, and is at its lowest point they began measuring default sources. Netflix reached a saturation point as a default in 2018 (23%) and has been fluctuating around that level ever since.

In contrast, the other “Big 5” streaming subscription services have made more consistent gains. While no single service in this group comes close to Netflix, in combination they’re now just 7 points behind.

The study also found that the declines in linear from traditional pay are not significantly improved when one adds in linear from Virtual MVPDs. If anything, adding in live from VMVPD shows an even more pronounced decline for live TV in general as the first stop for TV. The percent turning first to VMVPD has not risen above 6% since we started measuring defaults.

Overall, the percent defaulting to any live TV subscription is only 32% in 2022, 3 points lower than in 2021 and 7 points lower than in 2019.

The study also found that the choice of a default starting point for viewing is dramatically different by age.

Among 18-34 year olds, 38% make Netflix their first viewing choice—more than 3 times the proportion who default to a traditional live source.

On the other hand, half (50%) of 55+ year-olds turn first to pay TV linear channels, more than 5 times the percent who make Netflix their first viewing stop.

Although live from traditional TV still hangs on to a slim lead as the top individual default source, online sources in general dominate traditional pay TV sources in general, the researcher wrote. 

And that dominance has increased since even last year: 57% make an online source their TV home (up from 55%) last year, while 38% default to a source from a pay TV set-top box: live, DVR, or VOD (down from 39%).

 The small proportion of 18-34 year olds, and the large proportion of 55+ year olds, who default to some live source hasn’t changed since last year. But 35-54 year olds are now 7 points less likely to default to live, the report found.

The proportion defaulting to Netflix has not changed among 35-54 or 55+ year olds. But after dipping between 2020 and 2021, Netflix is up 7 points as a default among 18-34 year olds.

The drop for live among 35-54 year olds comes with an increase of 4 points defaulting to a Big 5 SVOD other than Netflix among this age group, Hub found. 

 The survey also found that being a default service is important because those who default to a service are dramatically more likely to remain loyal to it.

As part of the survey, Hub asked consumers to select which of the TV services they currently have they would keep if they had to drop all services except one. Among all subscribers to traditional pay TV service or each of the Big 5 SVODs, anywhere from 8% to 37% name each as the service they’d hang on to if they had to drop all others.

But among those who default to each of those services, the percent saying it would be the one service they’d keep jumps dramatically, to anywhere from 59% to 65%.

“At a time when the typical TV consumer uses an average of 7.4 different sources of TV content (Hub, The Best Bundle, 2022), simple penetration of a service in the marketplace is no longer a reliable measure of long term service success,” said Peter Fondulas, principal at Hub and co-author of the report. “A much better predictor is how much consumers engage with each service they have—and in particular, which they consider their TV viewing home base.”

The data cited here come from Hub’s “Decoding the Default” study, conducted among 1,600 US consumers with broadband, age 16-74, who watch at least 1 hour of TV per week. The data was collected in August 2022.

Live television today is nothing like it was during the medium’s pioneering years. In those simpler times, sets fell down, lights exploded and all sorts of “disasters” happened unexpectedly over the airwaves. Now, live television has been so perfected and scripted that things rarely go wrong.

That is…until they do. Quite suddenly, accidents can still happen and sometimes they turn into great television. At times like these, human beings drop their on-camera personas and become their real selves for the world to see. That wonderful serendipity happened on a summer night at the “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert,” a globally televised music event on August 21 on CNN. 

It was supposed to be New York City’s comeback after the pandemic. Recording mogul Clive Davis had assembled a who’s who of top named entertainers for what was billed as a five-hour live spectacular from Central Park’s Great Lawn.

EXCUSE THE INTERRUPTION

Then, suddenly, halfway through the concert, a record-breaking rainstorm—with thunder and lightning—blew in over Central Park. Barry Manilow was in mid-song early in his set when the concert was halted. Abruptly, thousands in the crowd were told to find the nearest exit and proceed to protected areas outside of the event site. Artists like Elvis Costello, Paul Simon and Bruce Springsteen had yet to perform.

With forecasts that the storm would pass within a half hour or so, the concert was in temporary suspension. CNN was forced to stay on the air and vamp for time. CNN host Anderson Cooper — backed with inaccurate weather forecasting and no idea when or if the concert would resume — was saved when Barry Manilow called the studio from his backstage trailer on a mobile phone. 

With a piano in his trailer, Manilow—ever the entertainer—sang his hit, “I Made It Through the Rain,” over the phone live to CNN. He had planned to sing the song on stage before the stormy ending and was determined to sing it now as the rain poured down outside.

Manilow opened the floodgate for other performers to phone in or do live video from backstage. The Killers performed impromptu backstage musical numbers over live iPhone video; Steven Colbert, Elvis Costello and Patti Smith called in to chat about both serious and light subjects with Cooper. Carlos Santana, already having performed his set at the concert, visited the CNN studio. 

All dropped their formal stage characters and became real people—joyously talking of such matters as stealing food from each other’s snack tables. It was real life, hair down, backstage banter on live, international television, and it was perhaps as good as the concert itself. 

“I am watching historic broadcasting right now,” Colbert told Cooper on the phone as he watched CNN from the performance tent. “I am enjoying this moment of you killing time. You are spinning straw into gold.”

At about 10:30 p.m., it became clear that the forecasters were dead wrong and the weather was getting worse—not better. Finally, the concert was officially cancelled and the performers scattered. But that hour or so of impromptu bantering from the musicians backstage while they waited in the storm added to the rich history of great live television accidents. 

Of course, from the vintage live drama and variety shows through the early years of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” viewers have always known that anything was possible. In that era, we watched in expectation of the outrageous. Can you imagine John Belushi performing in today’s environment? These days he probably couldn’t get past studio security at Rockefeller Center to even do the show!

I have always been intrigued by the adventure and creativity of truly live broadcasting. Not only did I grow up watching live shows, but in my college years I operated a turret-type monochrome RCA camera on a daily live kids’ show. Later, I got to know some of the people who worked and performed on live network broadcasts. I loved their war stories and could listen for hours.

THE GOLDEN AGE OF TELEVISION

For the people who broke into television during the medium’s formative years, it was the use of videotape beginning in about 1958 that sanitized and permanently changed the business. Video recording, the old timers lamented, sucked the life out of television.

Before their deaths, I had conversations on this subject with Milton Berle, the pioneering comedian who became known as “Mr. Television” after emerging as the first real TV star on NBC; Jackie Gleason, who knew just as much about what happens behind the camera as in front; and Buffalo Bob Smith, who hosted the 13-year run of NBC’s “Howdy Doody,” the pre-eminent kid’s show of my youth. 

Each of these performers relied on physical comedy and each relished the accidents that breathed tension into their live television broadcasts.

Milton Berle recalled that some of his best moments came during accidents, such as falling scenery or misplaced props. He told me he held membership in several labor unions simultaneously during his live TV days so he could do any job required on the show—including emergency carpentry with a hammer and nails on a fallen set wall during commercial breaks. 

“They didn’t call me ‘Mr. Television’ for nothing,” he liked to say of his off-camera skills.

Buffalo Bob, an endlessly cheerful entertainer who used to do naughty “blue” versions of the “Howdy Doody” show for his sponsors before the live broadcast, also respected a sense of spontaneity (remember how Clarabell used to randomly squirt Buffalo Box with seltzer water?) and the high energy level insured by the piercing eye of the live camera.

Gleason, who began his performing career as a carnival barker and in vaudeville-burlesque houses, valued the live performance as essential to his comedy. Even when he decided to do “The Honeymooners” as a filmed sitcom, Gleason did the show with minimal rehearsal before a live audience to gain spontaneity. 

Whether comedy, live drama or even talk shows, veterans of live television will tell you it was different when there were no “safety nets” to protect against mistakes and other slip-ups. And yes, profanities and “costume malfunctions” occasionally made it on the air back then as well. 

All the old-timers say the so-called “mistakes” often resulted in the best moments on television and infected viewers, who loved the idea that anything could and might happen during a live broadcast.

Videotape, they will also tell you, not only largely ended this creative tension, but shifted power away from the live performers to the bean-counting suits upstairs. The loose, fly-by-the-pants “Golden Age” of live television gave way to the tightly controlled, ratings-dominated era when every second counted for big dollars.

So, it is always refreshing today when things go delightfully wrong on live broadcasts. The Central Park experience proved chaos can still make great television. 

NEW YORK—The world is slowly starting to open up again thanks to the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, but even in a post-pandemic world, most consumers believe they will maintain, if not increase, their TV viewing habits across all platforms—live TV, SVOD and AVOD streaming.

This data comes from Tremor Video and Unruly, who surveyed 893 U.S. consumers in March. 

When asked what they expect their TV viewing habits to be over the next six months, 86% said they plan to watch live TV at the same or increase rates. Responses to the same question were 88% for streaming via SVOD platforms and 81% for streaming on free AVOD platforms.

This is in line with habits that people have gained in the last year. Tremor Video reports that since March 2020, TV viewing has spiked, with 61% of consumers saying they have watched more TV than before the outbreak of the pandemic.

When looking at it by demographics, the groups that are expected to have the most increased engagement with both paid and free TV streaming are younger demos (18-44) and higher income ($100,000 or more annually).

Connected TV (CTV) is expected to be a benefactor of this increased rate of viewing.

“[O]ur study suggests that consumers plan to increase their time with CTV content, reinforcing just how essential the medium will continue to be for advertisers as they look to fine-tune their 2021 media strategies,” said Terence Scroope, vice president of Media Insights and Analytics at Tremor Video.

Per another report from Tremor Video and Unruly, “CTV Advertiser Insights Report,” it showed that 72% of U.S. digital advertising professionals believe that CTV reaches target audiences more effectively than linear TV. As a result, 85% are making CTV a key part of their video strategy.

For more information, download the full report online. 

NEW YORK—Even amid stay-at-home orders, the average time U.S. adults spent watching video is continuing to drop. The latest Total Audience Report from Nielsen reveals that U.S. adults watched less video in the third quarter of 2020 than the same time period the year before.

Per the Nielsen report, Q3 2020 saw adults spending on average five hours and 21 minutes watching video across various devices. That is down from Q3 2019 when it was five hours and 22 minutes, as well as Q3 2018 when it was five hours and 24 minutes.

Live and time-shifted TV viewing is seeing the biggest dip in average viewing time. In Q3 2018, U.S. adults spent an average of four hours 13 minutes watching live and time-shifted TV per day. As of Q3 2020, that has dropped to three hours and 41 minutes per day.

The weekly reach of live and time-shifted TV is also on the decline. In Q3 2020, live and time-shifted TV reached 80% of the total U.S. adult population, down four percentage points year-over-year. The biggest drop was among Hispanic adults (down seven points to 76%), while Asian Americans remained the lowest demographic, with it only reaching 65%. Blacks and Whites both came in at 81%, down six percentage points and four percentage points, respectively.

Meanwhile, TV connected devices (internet connected devices, DVDs or game consoles) have been on the upswing, going from 47 minutes per day in Q3 2018 to 55 minutes in Q3 2019 and reaching one hour and five minutes in Q3 2020, per Nielsen.

This growth is being fueled entirely by internet connected devices. While DVD devices and game console reach both decreased among all demographics, internet connected devices went up across the board by an average of five percentage points. Just under half (49%) of the population uses internet connected devices each week, with Asian Americans (54%) and Hispanics (52%) leading the way.

Nielsen also shows that the younger generation prefers watching on internet connected devices over live and time-shifted TV. Time spent watching via internet connected devices increased across all age groups in Q3 2020, but the 18-34 age group were the only ones to spend more time watching on internet connected devices (one hour 22 minute) than live and time-shifted TV (one hour 12 minute).

For more information, Nielsen’s full Total Audience Report is available for download via its website.

BOSTON—When viewers want to find something to watch, half of them will check what’s on streaming before traditional pay-TV options, according to a new study from Hub Entertainment Research.

Hub’s “2020 Decoding the Default” study sought to find out the preferences of today’s TV viewers, and while pay-TV is hanging on, streaming is well positioned to become the new standard-bearer for what people talk about when they ask “what’s on TV?”

When asked what their default source of TV viewing was, 50% of Hub’s respondents said that it was an OTT service, up from 47% in 2019. Pay-TV, meanwhile, fell from its mark of 47% in 2019 to 42% in 2020. In fact, Netflix by itself has almost overtaken live TV, with 23% saying it is their default choice while 30% go with live TV from a pay-TV provider.

That decrease of live TV serving as the default option for viewers is happening across all age groups. While those 18-34 are by far the lowest (14% in 2020, down from 21% in 2019), those aged 55 and over had a similar drop in percentage points, but remain the largest group that goes with live TV first (53% in 2019, 46% in 2020). 

In terms of overall viewing, 60% of viewers say that an online source consumes most of their viewing time over a pay-TV service. That was closer to an even split last year (52% for online, 48% for MVPD).

While nearly two-thirds of respondents (64%) say they have both a traditional pay-TV service and a subscription to at least one streamer, the percentage of people who only have one or the other is now equal at 18%. The change from 2019 actually saw an increase in respondents who only had the one service—from 17% to 18% for pay-TV, 14% to 18% for streamers and down from 69% to 64% for both.

In addition, 50% of respondents subscribe to two or more of the “Big 4” streaming services—Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+—10% subscribe to all of them.

When it comes to which service respondents said they would choose if they could only have one, live pay-TV still sits at the top with 35%, but Netflix trails right behind it at 32%.

For more information on the “2020 Decoding the Default” study, visit Hub’s website. 

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Google announced enhancements to its search engine this week to give viewers more information on live TV programming.

In the United States now, when a viewer enters a particular keyword for MLB and NBA games into the Google Search Engine (i.e. “where to watch the Clippers game”), the information available has been expanded to cover a larger variety of viewing options. 

“You can also find live TV options by searching for the individual team or game,” Google wrote in an online blog. “For example, if you search for ‘Dodgers game,’ you’ll see all of our usual game day features like live scores, top stories, and standings, but you’ll now see a new ‘Live on’ button, which shows the live TV options in your area.”

Google said this feature currently includes a variety of cable and network channels, and will be expanded to more digital streaming options soon.

Google is also enhancing its recommendations for finding programming on linear TV by adding carousels of live content from cable and broadcast providers.

“When you search for things like ‘what to watch’ or ‘good shows to watch’ on mobile, you’ll now have visibility into both streaming and live TV shows,” Google said. “Our ‘On TV now’ carousel shows you programming across multiple channels that’s currently airing, while ‘On TV later’ shows you recommendations for future programming.”

UPDATED 6/24, 4:33 p.m.: According to TVT's sister publication Next|TV, Amazon is downplaying the Protocol report, saying that the job postings emphasizing live and linear programming experience only relate to teams focused on local broadcast offerings already within Amazon Prime Video's portfolio, not any new expansion.

Original story below.

Amazon’s Prime Video could be looking to distinguish itself from its big competitors like Netflix and Disney+ with the addition of live TV programming, according to a report from Protocol.

Protocol says that Amazon has posted several job listings that refer to the building of a “next gen linear catalog system to provide best-in-class Linear TV experiences to Prime Video customers.” An industry insider also reportedly told Protocol that Amazon has been “actively pursuing” deals to license live and linear programming.

Amazon currently offers live sports in the form of its deal with the NFL for Thursday Night Football games, but Protocol details that this new offering would add things like news, music, additional sports and scheduled movies and TV shows.

For more information, read the full story from Protocol. 

ARLINGTON, Va.—People at home spent less time streaming live TV between April 3-5 than they did during the previous period covered by CTA’s weekly “Tech Use and Purchase Tracker: COVID-19 Impact” report. Streaming of media overall, however, was up.

In the second weekly report from CTA, the percentage of U.S. households that streamed live TV dropped from 25% to 22%. Streaming or downloading of all media—videos, music, gaming—was up to 70% this week compared to 66% last week, but it did so without a huge bump in streaming video, which only raised one percentage point from 55% in the first week to 56% in week two.

The report does not offer any statistics on traditional television viewing numbers during this time when most families and individuals are at home.

Also seeing a decline week-to-week was the purchasing of new TVs. After new TV purchases were reported by 14% of CTA’s respondents in week one, that number fell to 11% in this most recent study.

One technology that more Americans took up in this latest report was the use of video conferencing technology, which rose from 12% to 19% week-over-week, as CTA Director of Research Lesley Rohrbaugh said that “Americans are getting creative as they use tech devices and services to stay connected during the COVID-19 crisis.”

For more information, read the “Weekly CTA Tech Use and Purchase Tracker: COVID-19 Impact” report. 

ARLINGTON, Va.—People are watching live TV and streaming content more frequently in the new coronavirus reality, according to reports from the Consumer Technology Association.

CTA has conducted a couple of surveys with consumers in regards to how they are utilizing technology as they adjust to social distancing and self-quarantining. 

In its “COVID-19 Impact Study: Use of Technology at Home,” CTA found that almost half of consumers are watching live TV (49%) and streaming video (48%) more frequently than they did prior to the pandemic. Some are utilizing streaming services for the first time (26%). In addition, to help with the new demands, CTA found that 11% of consumers had bought a new TV in the week prior to the survey (the survey was conducted between March 20-22).

Following that initial survey, CTA launched a “Weekly CTA Tech Use and Purchase Tracker: COVID-19 Impact.” The first week (conducted between March 27-29) showed that 66% of households used some kind of streaming/download service, with streaming video services leading the way at 55% of all consumers. The streaming of live TV service came in at 25%. In addition, the new survey found that more people are buying new TVs, as the number of purchasers increased to 14%.

“As people are social distancing and staying home, technology is providing comfort, entertainment, options for food delivery and outlets for social interaction to help people adjust to this new reality,” said Steve Koenig, vice president, research, for CTA. “The health crisis has accelerated adoption across these platforms and services, and many of these behaviors may stick once the pandemic is contained.”

CTA will updates its weekly tracker every Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES—A pair of earthquakes hit the Southern California region late last week, with the biggest registering as a 7.1 on the Richter scale. The earthquake hit at 8:21 p.m. PT on Friday, July 5, and was captured live during a broadcast of CBS Los Angeles’ local newscast. Anchors Sarah Donchey and Juan Fernandez give their viewers a quick rundown of what is happening in their studio before Donchey says they should take cover under their desk and Fernandez cuts to break. A video of the broadcast when the earthquake hit can be viewed here.

Elsewhere in Los Angeles, a broadcast of the Dodgers playing the San Diego Padres also captured live footage of the quake, and while the broadcasters make note of it the players seemed not to mind, continuing to play as no delay was called.

While the earthquake, which had an epicenter in Ridgecrest, Calif., resulted in a good bit of damage, no deaths were reported as a result.

Find out more about the broadcast and the earthquake’s impact here.

SANTA MONICA, CALIF.—Hulu is rolling out a slew of new features in an effort to boost its live TV experience on web browsers. One of those additions is one-click access to Hulu’s live TV service, which will redirect to a dedicated “Live” section that lives on the top of the webpage, per Richard Irving, Hulu’s vice president of product.

To find out more, read the full article on TVT’s sister publication Multichannel News.

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GULFPORT, FLA.—Live TV still remains the go to choice for nearly half of TV viewers when they want to find something to watch, but subscription video-on-demand services are closing the gap, with Netflix leading the way. According to a new study from Hub Entertainment Research, one in four people will use an SVOD as their default source for programming and one in five says they turn to Netflix first.

Those already subscribed to Netflix, the study finds, are more likely to use the service to serve as their go to option. Subscribers that first check Netflix when they want to watch something reaches 31 percent; when focused toward the 16-24 age group, that number jumps to 50 percent. Netflix’s original programming is apparently playing a part in this, with a reported one-third of subscribers watching the original content most often.

Netflix is also performing better in this area than its streaming competitors, Hulu and Amazon Prime. The study finds that OTT households spend more time on Netflix than any other SVOD, though in terms of engagement, Hulu comes out on top. Hub reasons that though these results show that Hulu viewers are committed to the platform, it might not be their default source of programming.

Another area of interest the study focused on was which service would viewers keep above all others. Live TV just edged out Netflix 36 percent to 33 percent, though when it comes to younger viewers (18-34) Netflix came out on top.

SVOD continues to grow in households, with 65 percent of pay-TV subscribers saying they use either Netflix, Amazon Prime or Hulu as well. The report found that 38 percent of pay-TV subscribers had at least two of the services—up from 25 percent in 2016—and 14 percent had all three—up from 6 percent.

To see the full report, click here.

LOS ANGELES—In the 25 years that “The Simpsons” has been on the air, there isn’t much that the show hasn’t done. It’s won awards; it’s become a cultural landmark; it successfully spun off onto the big screen. But even after all that, “The Simpsons” is still finding ways to innovate and it will do so again on May 15 when it will become the first ever animated show to broadcast live.

Homer will answer audience questions live on May 15 (Photo credit: FoxFlash)

In the episode titled “Simprovised,” written by John Frink, Homer Simpson will be featured in a three minute segment at the end of the episode that will have voice-performer Dan Castellaneta use motion capture technology from Adobe to bring the animated patriarch live to audiences. The segment will be broadcast live twice, once for the east coast and once for the west, and will see Castellaneta respond to calls and Twitter questions on current issues from Homer’s unique point of view.

Executive Producer Al Jean said this has been an idea that has floated around “The Simpsons” writer’s room for some time, originally being thought of during the run-up to “The Simpsons Movie” in 2007. “But at that point we looked at motion capture technology and we didn’t really think that it was up to it,” said Jean. Now, seeing how the same Adobe technology has been employed by others like Fox Sports to capture actors without using electrical hook-ups, Jean and company thought the timing was finally right. “We looked at what we had and we thought this will be convincing.”

Jean says that preparation for the episode has gone smoothly. The traditional animation for the segment has already been completed and there have been no real issues with the technology. Of course, the real test will be when things go live, but Jean is confident and believes that even if there is a little mistake, “that’ll even be better,” as it will help prove that the event was in fact live.

Don’t expect to see a full live episode of “The Simpsons” any time soon, however.

“I don’t think you’d want to see it for 30 minutes,” Jean said. “I think it’s great for three… but you wouldn’t be able to have the character interact with anybody else; you could have people talking, but not interacting… You couldn’t really do a fully animated show like this.”

Another new and exciting technology that has many people in the TV industry talking is virtual and augmented reality. “The Simpsons” will cover the VR buzz in an upcoming episode, where Montgomery Burns gets an Oculus Rift device, but as far as integrating the technology someway into the show or as a promotional tool, Jean says there are no immediate plans.

How will these new technologies be integrated into TV going forward? Jean isn’t sure, but he is excited to see where it progresses.

“There’s a new frontier, somebody’s going to conquer it,” he said. “I’m just glad we’re the first to do it for an animated show.” 

CLEVELAND—Many people joke that what they do isn’t brain surgery. That statement may no longer apply for a National Geographic production team. Nat Geo is preparing “Brain Surgery Live with Mental Floss,” the first-ever live brain surgery on television from University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland for Sunday, Oct. 25 at 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST.

Photo credit: National Geographic

“One of the things I love about doing television is the chance to take people closer to places they otherwise would never be able to go,” said Bob Wheelock, executive producer of the broadcast, “and certainly inside the human brain is somewhere most of us would never ever been able to get to.”

THE TOOLS

To bring viewers inside the operating room, Nat Geo is fitting as much as it safely can in the tight spaces of the operating room without impeding the surgery. As a result, they are relying on two Sony P1 robotic cameras and two Sony HDC 1500 handheld cameras to minimize intrusion in the operating room.

However, the production also will have direct feeds to a number of the tools being used by the doctors to see what they see. There also will be a graphical representation of the brain for reference, thanks to the hospital’s 3D imaging device, the Surgical Feeler.

Because of the tight space in the primary operating room, the production team has its home base in another operating room across the hall, where it will have threeadditional Sony HDC 1500 cameras—including Steadicam and handheld—prompters and cables necessary to broadcast live. There will also be a doctor present in this operating room to describe the details of the procedure for audiences.

The production will have a third location with the family of the person being operated on. Their thoughts and reactions will be recorded with an HDC 1500 handheld.

CHALLENGES

Besides the tight spaces, the production takes place in primarily sterile areas. This requires each piece of equipment that will be present in either operating room to be completely sterilized, a 10-hour process that began on Thursday, Oct. 22, so it could be set-up on Friday, Oct. 23. Even the crew needs to be sterilized and outfitted in scrubs.

“There’s very little margin for error, because we are not going to have the ability to say, ‘oops, wrong cable; wrong light,’” Wheelock said. “It’s got to be a very thorough, very thoughtful process… It takes a lot of work, preparation and cooperation.”

Wheelock and the doctors taking part in this program understand what this opportunity can do. Wheelock mentioned how Dr. Jonathan Miller, UH Case Medical Center’s director of the Center for Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery, emphasized to him that this DBS surgery helps people who suffer from ailments like Parkinson’s disease get their lives back, and that he wants this broadcast to help spread the message.

“This is not a life-threatening surgery, this is life altering, which is why we film it,” Wheelock said. “This is a celebration of the brain and the technology and medicine that has come along to help people who otherwise thought they had no hope.”