New Record For Linear Commercial TV Viewing

Posted by Gianluigi Cuccureddu SMP in Breaking News on August 15, 2011  |  0 Comments More from this author  |    |  Follow Gianluigi Cuccureddu SMP on: Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter |

According to figures from the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB), the average amount of time spent watching linear commercial TV reached a new record in the first six months of 2011, although the increases in total TV viewing appear to be slowing. The figures as reported by CampaignLive:

The average person watched a total of 28  hours, 21 minutes of linear TV every week, equivalent to four hours, three minutes a day.

The average TV viewer watched 18 hours and nine minutes of commercial linear TV every week, or two hours and 35 minutes a day during the first six months of 2011. This is an increase of 48 minutes a week, or seven minutes a day, from the same period in 2010.

Commercial TV accounted for 64% of viewing during the first six months of the year, up from 62% in the same period in 2010, while commercial impacts climbed 4.7% year on year to an average of 147 ads a day in the first half of 2011.

Lindsey Clay, managing director of commercial TV marketing body Thinkbox, said:

"What is clear is that every new technology that joins TV – from connected TV sets to social media – is making it even more enjoyable for viewers and even more effective for advertisers."

"We've been saying for a while that linear TV viewing couldn’t keep breaking records forever and that it had to stabilise at some point. It appears that this is now happening – although, within this, commercial TV is still growing a little, which is great news for advertisers and a testament to the choice and quality it offer."

The relationship between commercial TV going 2% up versus commercial impact of 4,7% up, indicates a more-than-average positive impact on the amount of viewed ads. This is contrasting in what the industry believes people are switching when ads are up. In no way says something about the effectiveness and attention to ads from a viewer point of perspective.

What it does mean, is that the socialization of television is not neccesarily putting a strain on conventional revenue streams, but enhancing them.