At least not the way they used to… and we do know this. But considering the impact of this statement is more dramatic. Broadcast folks always talked about how cable was a waste of money because there were so many homes that did not connect to cable. These homes were called passed homes. In the 1990’s and early 2000’s, 70% to 80% paid for cable TV. Then, the terms cord cutters and cord nevers entered into the discussion as the perception that cable TV is expensive. Connected to this conversation were video services like Hulu, Netflix, HBO, and others like them – big fee-based services
This always seemed primarily like a broadcast versus cable discussion.
But, how do we really think people are watching broadcast TV? Aren’t (or now “weren’t”) most watching broadcast TV by selecting those channels using their remote – the remote provided by their cable TV company? So cord cutters and cord nevers are also broadcast cutters and broadcast nevers!
Sure, some people watch broadcast channels through digital antennas. A few others also watch through satellite TV services like Direct TV.
But, how many people do you know who do either? It can’t be that many.
So how are people watching cable and broadcast TV content?
Many are watching through their cable TV provider still. But that “many” is more like 30% to 50% of everyone. Still a large group when considering that other media allows you to target subsets within such a large group and broadcast a message? Some are certainly using companies like Direct TV and some are actually using digital antennas (they must be. lol). But for sure, the fastest growing way to watch content from household-name sources like ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, CNN, HGTV, etc., is through apps, websites, and ad-supported streaming services like tubi and Crackle! And from an advertiser’s perspective, that occurs with CTV, OTT, streaming video, and YouTube!
Any video-marketing believer who traditionally used TV as the core driver in their advertising plans must consider moving 40 to 60% of this legacy budget into OTT, streaming video, and YouTube because traditional TV advertising reach is on a fast path to less, with returns diminishing at an ever-increasing pace. Because video remains the most powerful form of media to strengthen brand awareness and to influence consumer behavior, we must incorporate cost-effective ways to include it within strategic and effective advertising programs.
Furniture Store owners need to move budget into OTT, streaming video, and YouTube in a big way – and fast. For many, the bulk of their ad budgets remain broadcast TV. Besides the fact they seldom use broadcast TV during primetime (too expensive) when people with jobs actually watched broadcast TV. The way most use it (5A news to 6P news) is on a fast track to reaching less eyeballs (and those aren’t the best consumer eyeballs anyway…)
That’s all I have to say about that for the moment.
Terry Fetterman, Owner of Tango Multimedia