As a major weather storm swept through multiple states in the South and Midwest, local television stations relayed critical information to their communities, and saved lives.
‘They saved my life, my brother’s life, his wife, my mother, every one of them. It if hadn’t been for them, I would be laying there dead.’ -Robert Lowery, Mayfield, KY, followed the WPSD/Paducah meteorologist's advice and evacuated his mobile home before it was destroyed by the tornado.
As the massive storm took shape, local news teams took to the airways to convey critical, lifesaving information to their communities. Frontline reporters responded to difficult, oftentimes dangerous conditions, to bring the information viewers needed to prepare and stay safe.
With residents turning to their local TV stations, viewing increased dramatically. In the four metered markets in the projected path, the total viewing to the 4-affiliates (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) almost doubled (+92%) on the evening of 11/10 as viewers looked for critical information about the storm and its aftermath. By market:
click for full screen
Viewers continued to watch well into the overnight hours as the tornados passed through their area. In fact, the four-market average more than tripled (+318%) over the prior week with combined 4-afft HH ratings in the double digits.
LOCAL BROADCAST TV IS A CRITICAL RESOURCE FOR NEWS AND INFORMATION DURING EMERGENCIES
Source: Nielsen NSI overnight markets, Nov 10-11, 2021.
To find out more about recent viewing behavior, including Broadcast TV and Streaming services, Katz Media asked viewers what they are watching, if their viewing habits have changed over the past year, and whether they are considering adding or canceling services. The survey was launched in November 2021 to 1000 adults.
Recent viewing trends show that Broadcast TV* continues to be the major choice of viewers with 8 in 10 saying they have watched at least one network recently.
Among the streaming services, Netflix continues to lead with 55% of adults saying they've watched it lately, followed by Amazon Prime video (45%), Hulu (30%), Disney Plus (29%), Peacock (24%) and HBO Max (22%). The rest, Paramount+, Discover+ and Apple TV+, were viewed by less than 20% of the adults surveyed.
In terms of time spent, 14% are spending less time watching programs on a streaming service compared to a year ago. Less than half (44%) watched about the same and 43% say they are watching more.
KEEP OR CANCEL?
Over 10% say they are considering canceling a streaming service in the near future. This number is higher for heavy streamers (13%). On the flip side, only 13% are considering adding a service. Over half (59%) were adamant that they will not be adding any new ones.
click for full screen
LOCAL BROADCAST TV IS #1 AMONG VIEWERS
HIGH REACH ⇒ STEADY VIEWERSHIP ⇒ AD FRIENDLY
* Broadcast Networks include ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW, Univision and Telemundo.
Source: Katz Media Streaming Survey, Nov. 2021.