What Is TV? Viewers Define It in Several Ways, an Effectv/Kantar Study Finds

The top factor defining TV in the survey participants39 minds is that it39s a physical device It39s a safe conclusion that device is a smart TV set made by the likes of LG Samsung or Vizio amp8212 or something you attach to a TV that smartens it up That device could be a plugin module streaming stick or settop box as well as smartphones tablets or personal computersWhatever the device 75 percent to 80 percent of all US households have and use them to access upwards of 10 billion hours of content and applications per month according to Nielsen These are the products directly instigating the multiple eras of TV underway now amp8212 eras of plentiful scripted and unscripted series of diverse content reaching a variety of audiences of interactive services and megaprogramming services such as Apple TV BET and Disney as well as Peacock from Comcast39s NBCUniversal enterprise due out this springquotTV has evolved significantly in the last decade and will continue to do so in the next decadequot says Maria Weaver Comcast Advertising39s chief marketing officer quotFor marketers there is so much potential to reach audiences in new and efficient ways and we are excited about the opportunities to drive true effectiveness for their TV advertising investmentsquotClickamp160the image above to view the infographicMore than twothirds of the surveyed crowd agree that any device can be used to watch TV programming Broken down by specific products 97 percent see the TV set as a suitable viewing device compared to 75 percent for personallaptop computers and 71 percent for smartphones Adults ages 18amp821154 are more deviceagnostic than their older counterparts according to study researchersEven so when you ask groups of teens and twentysomethings if they watch television programming on smart TVs and connected devices as I have numerous times in recent months the majority say yes Their affirmation is coupled with great enthusiasm for the quality and diversity of what they watchWhen asked what makes the content watched count as being on TV more than half of the respondents 54 percent answer that it39s all about the physical device Fortyone percent claim that it39s the programming service or network they39re watching and 40 percent credit the content type whether live news sports or scripted episodic series Content length was a top factor for 22 percent of the respondents followed by where you watch 18 percent and who creates the content 15 percentThe survey dug further into content length Adults ages 25amp821154 for example are more likely to believe that for content to qualify as a TV program it must run at least 20 minutes Maybe there39s some pushback here to the popular notion that we all live in a shortattentionspan worldWhen the topic of shortform content came up quotwatching videosquot was among the most frequent responses from surveyed consumers Two of the least popular responses quotstreaming videosquot and quotwatching TVquotYet one element of today39s TV landscape Effectv39s survey participants overwhelmingly agreed on is how streaming has become a mainstream phenomenon Ninety percent of the participating adults are familiar with how streaming works regardless of generation That same percentage of adults also believe streaming can happen on any deviceAt one juncture survey takers were invited to put their imaginations to work and describe their thoughts about watching TV to an alien Here39s a sample of their answersquotWatching moving pictures on a screen with sound and some type of plotquotquotYou have a device and it shows you moving pictures of people or things that are following a written script The device tells stories or shows things that are happening or have been recordedquotquotWatching is a form of entertainment where you watch a device amp8230 passing time watching TV shows and news programs but some people can watch other things as wellquotquotIt is a device you sit in front of for minutes or hours and watch flashing videos and pictures shown with audioquotDespite the varied opinions about what qualifies as TV there39s no doubt that it remains a popular and highly engaging medium More than onethird of participants 36 percent declared that they watched more TV last year than in previous yearsquotAt Effectvquot Weaver says quotwe believe in television and that39s why we have 39TV39 in our name TV may no longer be just the large screen in the living room but what remains constant is the engaging medium that entertains viewers and showcases advertisers no matter where it is being consumedquotDon39t stop now Stay in the know with more from ComcastInSitesClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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What Is TV? Viewers Define It in Several Ways, an Effectv/Kantar Study Finds

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Simon Applebaum

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What Is TV? Viewers Define It in Several Ways, an Effectv/Kantar Study Finds

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