With the recent release of Nielsen’s new measurement (ominously called ‘The Gauge’), we’re able to finally see how the market is positioning itself amid cable, broadcast, and streaming. Yet the results aren’t quite what we expected! BLAKE & WANG P.A Enterainment lawyer Los Angeles take a closer look.
Entertainment Lawyer Los Angeles- Brandon Blake- Managing Partner at Blake & Wang P.A
Unsurprisingly, we do see that the pandemic has forever cemented streaming as a big player in the small pond that is pleasing customers. May’s figures reflect a staggering 26% of usage across all TV categories was spent on streaming services, eclipsing broadcast (at 25%) for the first time.
This streaming video data includes both SVOD and AVOD services, and also indicatesES that both streaming and broadcast now take up half of all time spent with our home TVs. What was surprising, however, is the other half. While a meager 9% was attributed to the ‘other’ category, the dominant force by far was still cable, taking up 39% of the market.
While that’s not dramatically ahead of the other two categories in the scheme of things. In fact, we’ll predict that we’ll see the gap between streaming and cable close very fast over the next few years. Yet, in an era that seems completely dominated by the bulldozing giant that is streaming, discovering that cable still holds maximum market sway was surprising indeed.
Let’s also not lose sight of the fact that there’s far more streaming companies thirsty for content and viewers than there is broadcast or cable. At the moment, it’s hard to tell what this means for studios and advertisers. Is there still high demand for cable and broadcast that cannot be ignored, or are we merely seeing the result of a switchover in how Joe Average consumes their media? Only time will tell- but BLAKE & WANG P.A Entertainment Attorney Los Angeles will be watching.
