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State of the Screens

How Do We Receive TV in 2022?

By May 19, 2022No Comments

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Big question #1: How do Americans receive television?

Share of U.S. TV households by source according to Nielsen:
1) Traditional pay-TV – 57%
2) Broadband-only – 27%
3) Antenna (OTA) – 15%

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Big question #2: Does this split impact data collection for measurement?

Quick answer: Yes.  These same trends are fragmenting sources available for video ad measurement.

Share of U.S. TV households by device technology according to CIMM:
1) Set-top box w/ Smart TV ACR – 42%
2) Set-top box wo/ Smart TV ACR – 34%
3) Smart TV ACR only – 13%
4) Neither set-top box or Smart TV ACR – 11%

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Big question #3: Does the amount of daily time spent with TV change by source?

Quick answer: Yes.  Traditional pay-TV households watch 2X the amount of TV as broadband only households.

Daily time spent with TV by source:
1) Traditional pay-TV – 5h 7m
2) Antenna (OTA) – 3h 50m
3) Broadband-only – 2h 53m

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Big question #4: How many different services do people use to watch TV?
Average number of TV sources (YoY growth) according to HUB Entertainment Research:
1) 2018 – 3.0
2) 2019 – 3.7 (↑ 23%)
3) 2020 – 4.8 (↑ 30%)
4) 2021 – 5.7 (↑ 19%)
5) 2022 – 7.4 (↑ 30%)

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Big question #5: Do antenna (OTA) homes also use streaming?

Quick answer: Yes. 73% of antenna (OTA) homes have some form of streaming.

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Big question #6: Do OTA households differ by age/income?

Quick answer: Yes.  OTA households without streaming are 12+ years older with a 54% lower average income.

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Big question #7: Does the share of over OTA homes differ by market?

Quick answer: Yes. A household in Albuquerque (31%) is 4X more likely to be OTA than in Boston (8%).

Why this matters: Local is complicated/fragmented.  The same target consumes video content differently by the market, which requires a unique media plan for each.

Flashback: Billion Reasons to Care About Local Video Ads

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.