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State of the Screens

Ratings bombshell: In two years, network TV demos plummeted 27 percent

By February 20, 2019No Comments

Average combined primetime viewership for 18–49 across ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC (YoY growth):
1)
2016-Q4–9.6M
2)
2017-Q4–7.9M ( 18%)
3) 2018-Q4–7.0M ( 11%)

Interesting question: Who are the people that are shifting consumption? Are they high income? Low income? Are high-income consumers more likely to pay for ad-free viewing? Mike Shields argues this is something worth more attention in his latest piece for TV[R]EV.

Interesting data: Nielsen released a viewership estimate for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (a favorite of Mrs. Screens) that projected 1.9M viewers/episode.

The most interesting data point was an estimated average income of $95K which is well above the national average of $61K.

More: How We Disrupted the Fun Out of TV

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.