June 24, 2010

CTAM Study: Social Networking Drives TV Viewership

According to a study released by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), 79 percent of regular social networkers say they would be likely to watch a TV show based on a recommendation from a friend via a social networking site. With 33 percent of regular social networkers reporting they were made aware of a new TV show because of something they saw on a social networking site.

The CTAM Tracking Study, Wave 5, "Exploring Evolving Trends in Viewership," was conducted in collaboration with Nielsen from Nov. 30 to Dec 11, 2009, with a total of 1,500 respondents ages 18+ and 500 teens, ages 13-17.

The data shows the preference for the big screen and the love of programming are driving segments of the population to access TV/movie content via the Internet on the TV set so they can truly see what they want, the way they want it.  Of those who consume movies, programs and other content on their TV and via the Internet (10 percent) or video game consoles (11 percent), like Xbox360 or PS3, nearly two-thirds are male with an average age of 31 and 35, respectively. Roughly 40 percent of these viewers report watching more TV shows in the past six months on these devices.

Additionally 39 percent of those who do not currently connect their TVs to their computers are interested in doing so. CTAM will investigate the drivers behind these behaviors in a future study: "Life is a Stream: Understanding Consumers’ Viewership of Internet Video on TV."