American’s Time Watching TV Hits a Record High
People may say that there’s nothing to watch on TV, but they still end up spending more time watching TV. The latest “Three Screen” report from Nielsen says that Americans have set a new record watching TV and have also increased their time online, watched more video online and increased time spent watching video on mobile devices.
According to the report the average U.S. home had their TV on 8 hours and 18 minutes per day, a record high since Nielsen began measuring TV in the 1950′s. The report doesn’t say how much of that time there was someone watching that TV.
More Info:
LA Times here
Nielsen Blog here
Nielsen Three Screen Report here
Hollywood Names Slated to Bring Original Shows to the Web
Sure, we’re use to seeing all kids of video on the web. We’ve even seen some of the tradition broadcast networks start their own “channels” on YouTube. Now there’s word of some major Hollywood players that will offer original content on the web too.
This latest news may show us where things are finally headed, especially when you look at how it relates to recent announcements by TV manufacturers and a study on TV viewers.
Google’s announcement
Starting in September Google will exclusively air “Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy” on the internet. You may know Seth MacFarlane from his shows “Family Guy” and “American Dad” or his work on “Johnny Bravo,” “Cow and Chicken,” and “Dexter’s Lab.”
“Cavalcade” is another animated show that will air in 50 two minute episodes. This will not only bring another big name creating original content for the web, but most likely be the most expensive productions ever created for the web. The show will be distributed through the Google Content Network; so instead of a Google ad on a web site you will see MacFarlane’s show. The New York Times reports that traditional commercials will appear in the show and banners ads around the show will also be sold. “For a more substantial fee, Mr. MacFarlane has been working with advertisers to animate original commercials,” the Times also reported.
An Internet Miniseries Event from the Creator of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
As if the announcement of “Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy” wasn’t enough (or the name long enough), next comes an announcement from Writer/Producer/Director Joss Whedon. Possibly best know for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Whedon says on his web site that basically they were really bored during the writers strike and “I finally decided to do something very ambitious, very exciting, very mid-life-crisisy. Aided only by everyone I had worked with, was related to or had ever met, I single-handedly created this unique little epic. A supervillain musical, of which, as we all know, there are far too few.”
Whedon’s show is called “Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Bolg” and will stream free in mid July. The first act will be posted on July 15th, with the second and third acts going up on the 17th and 19th. At midnight on the 20th he will pull them off his site and you will be able to buy it via download and DVD. The trailer does look funny. (View the trailer here)
Viewers and the Web
We’ve seen growing numbers of video viewers on the web, but according to new research conducted by The Nielsen Company for the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), “most adults (94%) who subscribe to cable or satellite television services prefer to watch television on traditional TV sets.”
For “adults” those numbers aren’t a huge surprise, younger viewers would be more likely to watch videos on a computer. Then there’s the television experience; the idea of huddling around a computer screen isn’t as pleasant as being on the couch watching a big flat screen TV.
Changes are in the works though. Manufactures have announced add-on modules that will allow you to watch internet video on your big screen without a computer. For example, Sony’s Bravia Internet Video Link sells for $300, will let you watch video including high-definition from providers such as AOL, Crackle, Yahoo! and YouTube.
Now we have a way to get “the TV experience” with our web video and it looks like quality content is finally headed our way… we might actually be able to find something to watch.
More Info:
New York Time article here
Joss Whedon’s “Master Plan”
CTMA Viewer Study here
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