Amid the many new media offerings available to consumers, it’s easy to lose sight of long-standing, dependable choices—even when they continue to drive significant engagement. The news is one such option, and amid the trifecta of a pandemic, widespread social unrest and a U.S. presidential election, it remains a vital connection to both the world at large and our local communities.
While the time consumers spend watching TV news has been rising since the fall of last year, it peaked at just under nine-and-a-half hours each week in April of this year—the height of the stay-at-home period in the U.S. Fast forward to September, American adults are still engaged with news, watching an average of 7 hours and 5 minutes of TV news per week, which is up 23% from the same period last year.
While the high engagement with news in March and April is noteworthy, it’s not surprising when you consider consumers’ first exposure to information about COVID-19 and its implications here in the U.S.—as well as the fact that most of the country was in lockdown and media consumption skyrocketed while consumers were largely homebound. With so much in flux this year, news will remain a staple in consumers’ ever-expanding media diets. However, with so many options available, individual news outlets will need to continue providing information relevant for their audiences to maintain and grow audiences.
Seguir leyendo: Nielsen
