Does heavy media consumption negatively affect other media?

If a consumer is a heavy user with one media platform, does that mean that they will consume less from another? Not necessarily, according to a study from Edison Research and Arbitron.

The Center for Media Research recently released results from a study that tracked media use consumption. The three top reaching media platforms are radio, online and TV, and the study focused on its heavy user habits. On average, persons 12+ consume 3:33 hours of television a day, 2:38 hours of the internet, and 2:04 hours of radio.

Results reflected that heavy online users spent about seven hours per day on the internet. By contrast, these heavy users consumed the average amount of TV at 3:35 hours and radio at 2:07 hours. Meaning, the steep skew towards online media consumption did not directly affect other media habits.

The trend continued with heavy TV users. This group averaged about 8:16 hours a day watching TV compared to 2:52 hours being online, and 2:12 hours listening to radio. All media was above the national averages.

Lastly, the heavy radio users spent about 6:23 hours listening, 3:31 hours watching TV, and 3:00 being online.

In conclusion, the study mentioned that the average time spent will all three media is 8:15 hours. This is up from the 7:03 hours average ten years ago. That being said, it leads one to believe that there is some media usage overlap to account for the increased consumption.

Which is easier to read- print, tablet or e-reader?

What difference does it make whether one media is easier to read than another? It can make a big difference if you want someone to read something long enough to see your advertisement. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany recently did a study to see which print form, print, tablets, or e-readers, are easiest to read.

According to MediaPost, the study divided the research participants into two groups with one being between the ages of 21-34, and the other being 60+. While the groups read from print, tablets and e-readers, researchers were tracking eye movement and brain activity. This was done to determine how much neural power is needed to read the same text but in different formats.

Results showed that there wasn’t much variance between reading formats for the younger-skewing group. However, the older-skewing group did have some differences. This group, on average, read text on an iPad tablet three or four seconds faster than the other forms. Also, when reading the iPad, the same group showed lower level of brain activity. Meaning, it was easier to read than print and e-readers. Researchers reasoned this could be because of the tablet computers’ backlit screens, which can make text stand out more from the page.

Overall, how can advertisers use this to their advantage? It would be extreme to cut out all advertising in print and e-readers all together if the goal is to reach the older-skewing demographic. Instead, it would be recommended to maintain coverage in existing media and possibly expand into other media forms like the iPad.

Is television reaching an older audience?

With broadcast television, some networks skew younger than others, but how exactly are they ranking? From looking at the first two weeks of the fall 2012 season, it appears that most networks are growing older.

According to MediaPost, most of the median ages increased from the year prior:

·       CBS: Median age of 57.8 years; 55.3 in 2011.

·       ABC: Median age of 55.3 years; 53.4 in 2011.

·       NBC: Median age of 47.8 years; 48.7 in 2011.

·       Fox: Median age of 43.3 years; 41.8 in 2011.

·       CW: Median age of 40.9 years; 36.6 in 2011.

·       Univision: Median age of 40.4 years; 36.8 in 2011.

What does this information tell us? First of all, the data was pulled from the initial two weeks of the fall season. Therefore, it may have leveled out throughout the season. However, it does still show a trend towards an older audience.

It’s up to advertisers to figure out how best to reach their audience. For example, if the desired consumer is younger, look at younger skewing networks or look at younger skewing programming within all networks. Just because the median is slightly older, doesn’t mean that the younger audience has left. It simply means that the active audience is staying with certain programs and networks in spite of the fact they are getting older.

FXX to launch this fall to a younger demographic

In recent TV upfronts, the Fox cable group announced plans to launch a new cable channel this September. Already running FX, the new sister channel will be called FXX.

According to MediaPost, FXX will target a younger skewing audience of people 18-34. In order to help bolster interest, two successful FX programs, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “The League” will move to FXX. In addition, two original comedies, and a late-night show will be added to the programming. Eventually, the new channel hopes to expand to original dramas. The cable group intends to reach a distribution of 74 million homes within the first year.

With this addition, the Fox cable group will be able to reach the majority of the demographics with FXX reaching the younger audience of adults 18-34, FX reaching the young to middle aged adults 18-49, and the Fox Movie Channel, FXM, reaching the older audience of adults 25-54.

Advertisers will need to keep an eye on the new channel to see if the programming has enough leg to make it a success. In theory, this could be a new option to reach a young adult audience.