Seasonality plays a role in an overall television usage decline of 3% during the month
Following seasonal viewing trends that typically begin in February, overall television usage in the U.S. dipped again in March. Despite declines across categories, cable and streaming saw their share of TV viewing increase in this month’s report of The GaugeTM as a result of smaller declines in viewing in these categories compared with the overall decline of 3% on a monthly basis. While these changes follow similar month-over-month trends from last year, they also point at larger shifts happening to Americans’ media habits.
The growing influence of women’s sports
Similar to March 2023, the NCAA “March Madness” tournament helped cable viewing hold steady and gain 0.7 share point, as the category saw a 43% bump in sports viewing, to finish the month with 28.3% of TV. However, unlike last year, which was driven almost exclusively by the men’s division, the NCAA women’s games charged onto TV screens this March.
In fact, the NCAA Women’s Basketball matchup between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the West Virginia Mountaineers on March 25 on ESPN was among the top 10 cable telecasts for the month (seventh overall). The comparable game last year barely made it into the top 100 among cable telecasts. And this didn’t include the Elite Eight, Final Four and Championship games, which took place in April.
The appeal of the tournament among sports fans highlights the impact that high-demand content has on viewership, regardless of platform or channel, and also highlights a larger trend we’re seeing in the rise of women’s sports.
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The growing influence of women’s sports
Beyond March Madness, TV’s February-to-March changes in 2024 are almost identical to the transition we saw last year, reflecting seasonality in viewing as a result of annual changes in weather, vacations, holidays etc. However, we can see evidence of larger transformations affecting the industry as we look deeper into the data.
Following seasonal trends similar to the past few years, broadcast viewing fell 6% in March to finish with a 22.5% share of television. To add some perspective, when Nielsen released the first edition of the GaugeTM in May 2021, the broadcast category accounted for 25% of television viewing, and despite the continued declines, the category has been fairly resilient, with a less sharp drop than some might have expected.
Comparatively, streaming viewing declined just 1% versus last month but gained 0.8 share points to finish with 38.5% of television viewing in March. No category has seen a more dramatic shift than streaming on an annual basis, as it’s gained 12% versus a year ago and added 4.4 share points. Some of that shift has come from FAST channel providers (PlutoTV, The Roku Channel and TubiTV), with a considerable portion of the titles being fueled by cable network content.
So while the cable category may be shrinking in terms of its share of television, cable content remains powerful with consumers. In addition to March Madness, the State of The Union address on March 7, which drew 32.2 million viewers in total (14.1 million on cable alone), reminds us that cable remains a news-driven category as six of the top 10 cable telecasts this month were related to the event. As we look toward November, cable will play a significant role in how audiences connect with news media ahead of the 2024 U.S. elections.
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CTV AND STREAMING GLOSSARY
Few areas of the media landscape have taken the spotlight over the last year like streaming video has, fueled by increasing consumption and a wealth of new platform and content options. In June 2021, for example, streaming accounted for 27% of total TV time in the U.S., much of which is attributable to the fact that 77% of U.S. homes now have at least one connected device.
Given the growth in consumption and accompanying advertising opportunities, it’s not surprising that 60% of U.S. advertisers say they plan to shift ad dollars from linear TV to either connected TV (CTV) or over-the-top (OTT) this year. But given the breadth of the CTV universe, identifying ad opportunities isn’t always clear, and neither are many of the terms and acronyms that marketers and industry participants use, such as programmatic, CTV, OTT and advanced TV.
This glossary aggregates many of the terms and acronyms used to provide clarity amid a quickly evolving and important space in the broader media industry.
GLOSSARY
Ad Sequencing
Ad serving method where a set of ads are shown in a predefined order i.e. creative B is shown after a user has been exposed to creative A.
Advanced TV
All non-traditional TV. It’s the umbrella term encompassing over the top, connected TV and addressable TV.
AVOD
Ad-supported video-on-demand.
Behavioral Data
Data that represents buying and media consumption actions and habits.
Connected TV
TVs that have access to an internet connection and can stream video content. This can include smart TVs or standard TVs with a connected device (Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, etc.)
Global Frequency Capping
Ad serving feature that ensures a user is only exposed to a certain number of ads within an allotted time period.
Home Screen Ads
Static ads that sit on the home screen. They’re typically a short video or image and can feature a call to action like ‘learn more’.
In-stream Video Ads
15- to 30-second long ads that play before or during the program. They are a clever and cost- effective way to reuse your existing television ads for connected TV.
Incremental Reach
Unique audiences exposed to your ads, beyond those you are reaching via other screens or mediums.
Interactive Pre-Roll Ads
The same as in-stream video ads, except they allow the viewer to click through to a landing page. For example, if you’re advertising a movie, this type of ad could bring the viewer to a page where they could book a ticket.
MVPD
An acronym for Multiple Video Programming Distributor. These companies are content providers that deliver broadcast and cable programming to audiences through traditional means, such as cable boxes and satellite subscriptions. Examples include Comcast, Dish and Cox.
Over-the-Top (OTT)
Streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube TV and Disney+ that can be streamed on any internet-connected device without a cable or satellite subscription.
Private Marketplaces (PMPs)
Customizable, invitation-only marketplaces where premium publishers make their inventory available to buyers.
Programmatic TV
Technology-automated and data-driven method of buying and delivering ads on linear TV.
Streaming
Streaming refers to the delivery of audio and video content to a device (phone, tablet, computer, TV) through an internet connection. Streaming content can be delivered wirelessly as well as through a wired connection.
Suppression
Utilize advanced techniques to prevent targeting someone who already bought a product or service.
SVOD
Subscription video-on-demand.
vMVPD
An acronym for Virtual Multiple Video Programming Distributor. These companies are content providers that deliver aggregated live and on-demand video content through an internet connection. Examples include Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, YouTube TV, DirecTV Now and fuboTV.
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