Simulmedia: Genre Preferences Persist Over Time - Stewart Hauser - MediaBizBloggers

Television viewing preferences are not seasonal. Viewers who have an affinity for cooking shows or comedies or reality shows in the spring will still enjoy programs in those genres when the leaves change colors. Individual viewers will move in and out of particular segments, but the utility of genre segments in efforts to improve promotional campaign response rates is unaffected.

To examine genre preferences and whether they change over time, we selected three programs that aired in the spring and are now continuing in the fall: Desperate Housewives (ABC), Ghost Whisperer (CBS), and Heroes (NBC). We then created two bubble charts for each program. The chart on the left is based on April/May viewing habits, while the one on the right is based on September/October viewing habits.

The charts on the left look extremely similar to the charts on the right. Most audiences had the same proclivity to the show in the spring as they do now in the fall. Core audiences (upper-right quadrant) are mainly constant.

Correlation in these charts is high, as we would expect. Both Relative Segment Reach and Attentiveness tend to be similar by genre segment for spring episodes and fall episodes of the respective shows. The table below illustrates these high correlations:

Finally, the two charts below plot Segment Reach and then Attentiveness for spring and fall, with each point representing a genre segment. All six trendlines are at around a 45 degree angle, further indicating the high correlations.

Further analysis could recreate this exercise for a larger quantity of programs.

Stewart can be reached at stewart@simulmedia.com.

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