How people really watch television

In a fascinating Economist article, The Lazy Medium: How people really watch television, we discover once again how rapid changes in technology are only slowly reflected in meaningful changes in behaviour. The following three extracts from the article demonstrate quite clearly how what we thought the impact of technology might be doesn’t necessarily match up to current reality:

Myth 1: Viewers disregard the programme schedule

But a change in expectations is not quite the same as a change in behaviour. Although it is easier than ever to watch programmes at a time and on a device of one’s choosing, and people expect to be able to do so, nearly all TV is nonetheless watched live on a television set. Even in British homes with a Sky+ box, which allows for easy recording of programmes, almost 85% of television shows are viewed at the time the broadcasters see fit to air them.

People want to watch ‘Pop Idol’ when everyone else is watching it,” says Mike Darcey of BSkyB. If that is not possible, they watch it as soon as they can afterwards. Some 60% of all shows recorded on Sky+ boxes are viewed within a day. Often the delay is only a few minutes—just enough to finish the washing up or to make a phone call. For the most part, internet video is used in the same way. Matthias Büchs of RTLNow, a video-streaming website, says online viewing of a programme peaks within a day of that programme airing on TV.

Myth 2: Family viewing is a thing of the past

It may seem dated, but the image of the family clustered around the living-room set is an accurate depiction of how most people watch television in most countries. Colleen Fahey Rush, head of research at MTV, puts this down to the rise of two-earner households. Because both the father and the mother are absent more often, their company is more valued. “Today’s children actually like spending time with their parents,” she explains. A big thing they like to do together is watch television. Like all social activities, television-watching demands compromise. People may have strong ideas about what they want to watch, but what they really want to do is watch together. So the great majority of them first see “what is on”—that is, what is being broadcast at that moment. If nothing appeals, they move on to the programmes stored in a DVR. On the very rare occasions when they find nothing there, they will look for an on-demand video.

Myth 3: The long tail now dominates TV viewing

Live television is not just the most popular way of watching video; it also influences the way people watch shows on all devices. The most popular live television programmes tend to be the most heavily recorded and the most watched on computers and mobile devices. There is little to suggest that television is growing a long tail of niche interests.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

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