Crowd Louder’s Post

More people are tuning in to the ne\ws during the election season. If you are an advertiser, this is a peak opportunity to reach your customers. Ask me about OTT (Streaming stations) Youtube, Paramount, HULU, etc. #advertising #advertisingagencies #marketing #election2024 News programming access is expanding How viewers are accessing both broadcast and cable is changing. Americans are increasingly using over-the-air (OTA) and over-the-top (OTT) devices, including virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMVPDs), such as YouTubeTV, Sling TV and Hulu+ Live TV, to access TV programming. Household vMVPD subscriptions have increased year-over-year for the last three years, growing from 12.1% of all U.S. TV households in December 2021 to 16.5% in December 20231. And news viewing on vMVPDs follows a similar trend. 

We often talk about the decline of local news in terms of newspapers. I don't think we pay enough attention to what's happening in local television, which has faced its own steep advertising decline (although offset to some degree by retransmission fee revenue). Next month, the oldest TV station in El Paso will end most (and maybe eventually all) of its traditional local news broadcasts. This is national market 89, in the 23rd largest city in the country and a place where vast amounts of important news takes place. Expect more of this. We need to expedite local news solutions. https://lnkd.in/gNs_-XMi

The 25.6% drop in viewers for 2024 election coverage shows just how much people are shifting to digital and streaming platforms for their news. With CTV and services like CNN Max and YouTube pulling in more viewers, it’s clear where the future of election coverage is headed. #2024Election #CTV #FutureOfStreaming

The least-watched network on your TV is also the only place I would ever watch a presidential debate. And I’ve seen a lot of them—I have watched practically every presidential debate, both primaries and general elections, from around 2012 to present day. My secret is a deep masochism and inability to look away from the disfunction of our country’s political process. But also, C-SPAN. What is C-SPAN exactly? C-SPAN is a nonprofit public service television network started in 1979 and essentially funded by cable and satellite services. A bunch of them banded together to offer unbiased, ad-free news coverage to almost every home in the United States for the betterment of public education and insight. It covers both politics and nonpolitical topics (historical programming, book coverage, author interviews), and has expanded to C-SPAN 2, C-SPAN 3, radio broadcasts, and live internet streams. It operates completely independently: The government has no bearing on what it covers, and it never solicits donations. It’s basically a wonder that is generally taken for granted. C-SPAN is a gift. Isn’t C-SPAN boring? C-SPAN is among the most boring programming you can find on television. But if you have the right reasons for watching, its lack of entertainment is its greatest strength (more on that later). Think of it this way: If you spend a lot of time online, you might use an ad-blocker to keep all the pop-ups and trackers from interrupting you. Similarly, C-SPAN is the ad-blocker of televised news, running without the punditry, sensationalism, and desperation of modern media. Comedian Larry Wilmore once said, “C-SPAN is the number one network among people who died watching TV and no one’s found them yet,” and that C-SPAN’s only rival network is “no-input HDMI-1.” He’s right, and you can find Wilmore’s joke—where else—on C-SPAN, showing that while the network is boring, it’s also self-aware of what it has to offer. Is the Harris-Trump presidential debate worth watching? As someone who will watch the Harris-Trump presidential debate, I don’t recommend others do the same. There are better things to do than engage with political theater under the guise of impacting a decision that we all undoubtedly made long ago. Cleaning your home would be a better option than watching what will transpire from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. in Philadelphia on Sept. 10. Others carry this cross so you don’t have to, and the highlights will flood our social media feeds the days that follow. But if you choose to watch, you should do it on C-SPAN. Why you should watch C-SPAN over other networks No one is watching C-SPAN but me and maybe three other people, but underneath its boredom is a simple truth for those who want their information minus the spectacle and punditry of cable news: C-SPAN is televised news in its purest, most direct form. It’s “boring” the same way a Google search might be “boring” without sponsored posts and other

The influence of TV on politics is nothing new. Most of us are familiar with how the first televised presidential debate between Kennedy and Nixon changed elections forever. The 1960 faceoff brought live political coverage into Americans’ living rooms for the first time, significantly influencing how voters formed their political opinions. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞: — Amazon Prime Video will host a first-of-its-kind live Election Night event. — Peacock is offering Multiview election coverage, bringing innovation to a stale industry.  — Many viewers now get their news on YouTube TV, the fourth largest U.S. TV provider today. This rise of live news coverage on streaming platforms was both obvious and inevitable. But it’s still noteworthy. Live event coverage has long been the final firewall between traditional linear TV and the tech-backed streaming platforms. But Big Tech took over sports broadcasting earlier this year — proving the infrastructure and audience was in place. Now, it’s taking on live news as the final frontier. Interestingly, streaming adoption of political advertising is a bit more nuanced. While linear TV relies on political ads like a drug, many streaming platforms (like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix) don’t even allow political ad $s into their ecosystem, limiting election-related content to “informative, accessible, and non-partisan” coverage. In other words, these platforms are benefiting from the upside of election year economics (eyes glued to the news broadcast) without having to risk the downside (an overreliance on political ad dollars).

More signs of the changing audience landscape...and movement toward democratization of news platforms  Election night viewership tells a tale of two screens. Traditional networks took a brutal hit, with viewership plunging 26% from 2020—just 42.29M viewers across 18 networks marked the lowest turnout since Nielsen started counting in 2000. But while cable news struggled (CNN dropped 46%, Fox News 27%), YouTube emerged as the new political powerhouse, commanding 60.7M streaming hours and peak viewership of 9.14M. This isn't just another cord-cutting story; it's a complete rewiring of how Americans follow politics. Nearly one-third now regularly get their news from YouTube, up from 23% in 2020. Fox News still led TV coverage with 10.32M viewers, but the platform accounting for 10.6% of all TV streaming clearly signals changing times. As networks scramble to keep up, YouTube's becoming the new election HQ—whether you're watching on your phone, couch, or anything in between.

Two of my favorite takeaways from this article: "Habits change, but newsrooms run deeper than formats." and... "Everyone has information needs, and few are better than broadcast newsrooms at meeting them."

TV still rules political ad spend. According to EMARKETER, more than half of political ad spend is spent on TV. And CTV is the fastest-growing political ad format. That's significant considering 3/4 of total ad spend is on digital. Why? Well, TV has... 📺BROAD REACH: TV is still a great way to reach a wide group of potential voters, fast. 📺CREDIBILITY: As the most trusted marketing channel, TV builds authority like no other. 📺LOCAL IMPACT: Targeted local TV campaigns can help swing contested races. 📺CONTEXT: Live news broadcasts still attract millions of viewers during election season. 📺EMOTION: Linear TV offers incredible attention and storytelling. (Both important to win elections) We "got political" on the podcast this week and discussed advertising during election season! Link in the comments to listen. (No actual politics included, promise.) Image & data from Bloomberg

Curious about where voters turn for their debate coverage? Our comprehensive analysis uncovers critical insights: • YouTube Dominance: During and after debate night, YouTube emerged as a primary platform for viewers. Leading channels such as CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and The Daily Show garnered impressive viewership, with figures ranging from 9 to over 16 million views on their debate content. • Simulcast Surge: Major networks including ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox attracted nearly 8 million households watching live, with varying durations of engagement. • Delayed Viewing: The debate's influence extended beyond the live broadcast. MiQ's analysis identified that nearly 4 million households accessed the debate on demand in the subsequent days. For an in-depth understanding of how digital platforms influence voter engagement, download our official Debate Analysis. #politicalinsights #debate2024 #programmatic #YouTube #wearemiq

While we must worry about truth, trustworthiness, and fact-checking, we must also see how news continue to be followed - only from sources unexpected 20 years ago. This adds responsibility for #newsmedia to find where the audience is and make sure the delivery channel is effectively chosen. It's also a challenge for current media business models. The Guardian: "Online platforms have overtaken TV channels as the most popular sources for news in the UK, (...) a 'generational shift' in viewing habits." In the UK, news consumption is: - Adults: 70% TV / 71% online / 52% social media (top 3 are Facebook, YouTube, Instagram) - 16- to 24-year-olds: social media is the dominant news source - 12- to 15-year-olds: TikTok is the biggest single news source Link to The Guardian's story here, correctly approaching the need for a revision from outdated programming based on 60's-style viewing habits.