NEW YORK—Don’t put that nail in the coffin of broadcast television quite yet. Contrary to a chorus of voices from the connected television and digital sectors, broadcast TV—specifically the local broadcast news—leads other media and platforms in driving the conversations of Americans about the topics of the day.
The finding, one of several underscoring the continued strength of broadcast TV among Americans, comes from a national study of more than 4,000 people conducted by GfK/NIQ for the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB), the trade association representing U.S. local commercial TV stations.
TVB commissioned the study to learn more about media’s role in influencing conversations. Respondents across demographic groups, political party affiliations, races and ethnicities were also asked about the influence of various media outlets and their platform preferences.
Questions covered include:
- Which medium is the strongest conversation driver—TV, streaming, radio, social media, podcasts or newspapers?
- What are people’s attitudes toward news sources regarding trust, believability, shareability and fake news?
- How do media platforms influence political word-of-mouth?
- How influential are media platforms on word of mouth among those who are in the market for products and services like auto, healthcare, home improvement, legal services, physical fitness, restaurants, retail and travel?
- On which platforms do people prefer to view their sports—linear or streaming?
Researchers found 80% of respondents have daily conversations about topics covered by local broadcast TV station newscasts. TV remains the dominant driver of these conversations, whether they are about the news of the day, local and regional news, weather, sports, traffic or politics when compared to ad-supported streaming platforms, social media, print, radio, podcasts or direct mail.
The study also revealed that among all digital choices, conversations about news of the day are most affected by local TV stations’ websites and apps.
Broadcast TV was also identified as the primary news source among survey takers. Respondents found local broadcast news assets to be the most shareworthy, trustworthy and believable among key age demographics, high-net-worth homes and consumer categories, the survey found.
Social media, though, was regarded as the least trustworthy and believable, as well as the most strongly associated with fake news, per the survey.
Other findings:
- Across key product categories, TV was selected most by respondents as the media that sparks or is referenced in their daily news conversations.
- Across the spectrum of professional and college sports, respondents overwhelmingly chose linear TV over streaming sources as their viewing source.
- Regardless of political affiliation, respondents chose TV as the biggest impact on their daily conversations about news.
Respondents also reported feeling a strong sense of closeness and familiarity with local TV news. This emotional connection to their local stations further reinforces TV’s importance and effectiveness in influencing both personal dialogue and consumer behavior, TVB said.
More information is available on the TVB website.
