By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Atlantans watch more TV than any major market in the top 25 except St. Louis, Detroit, Baltimore and Cleveland, which topped the list, based on a Nielsen study.
The average person in metro Atlanta consumes a whopping five hours and 21 minutes of television programming daily. That is 22 percent of the day and assuming a person sleeps eight hours, 33 percent of the a person's waking hours.
This compares to San Francisco, where people watch a relatively modest three hours and 41 minutes of TV a day or 31 percent less TV than those in Atlanta.
Nielsen now breaks down TV viewing into three categories: live TV, time-shifted TV (on-demand or DVR) or on a multi-media device.
Despite the rapid rise of watching shows on demand or off the TV, 79 percent of viewing in Atlanta is still live. About 16 percent is time-shifted off the TV and 5 percent is on a multi-media device
Atlanta is third among major markets when it comes to watching TV on a smartphone, laptop or tablet: 17 minutes a day. Only Baltimore and Orlando garner more: 18 minutes. It's also fifth for time-shifted TV and ninth for live TV.
When it comes to smart TV ownership, enabling people to stream directly onto a TV, Atlanta is a bit behind. The metro area is ranked 19th out of 25 markets with one-fifth of the population owning a smart TV. That's up from 14 percent a year earlier. Washington D.C. is tops with 28 percent.
Smartphone penetration is at 82 percent nationwide and 86 percent in Atlanta, ranked seventh. (Dallas is tops at 89 percent.) African Americans have higher ownership of smartphones than average. In Atlanta, the percentage is 89 percent. (Miami African Americans are up to 97 percent.)
About a third of Atlantans watched video on a mobile device in the past month, ranked seventh. (D.C. led with 39 percent.)
Nearly two thirds of Atlantans own a tablet: 65 percent. That's second behind only D.C. at 68 percent.
The percentage of Atlantans who have at least a subscription to Amazon Prime, Netflix and/or Hulu is 51 percent, ranked 13th. About 48 percent to metro Atlantans get Netlix, about 20 percent get Amazon Prime and 12 percent receive Hulu.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Here's a version of the story that ran in print January 26, 2016:
Outside of sleep, Atlantans love to watch TV more than anything else, and Nielsen has the numbers to prove it.
The average metro Atlantan consumes some sort of television programming a whopping 5 hours and 21 minutes a day, which is 22 percent of a person’s life.
Out of the top 25 markets, Atlanta is tied for fifth behind only St. Louis, Detroit, Baltimore and Cleveland, which topped the list, based on a recent Nielsen study.
Of course, nowadays, people are no longer just sitting on the couch in front of a traditional TV. They also consume “House of Cards” or “Empire” on computers, laptops and smartphones via streaming. And they could be doing so on the train, in the mall or at a restaurant.
Despite the rapid rise of watching shows on demand, 79 percent of viewing in Atlanta is still traditional live programs. About 16 percent is time-shifted off the TV (such as with a DVR) and 5 percent is on a multimedia device.
Atlanta is third among major markets when it comes to watching TV on a smartphone, laptop or tablet: 17 minutes a day. Only Baltimore and Orlando garner more: 18 minutes. It’s also fifth in time-shifted TV and ninth with live TV.
What may be skewing these numbers toward live TV: People older than 55 not only watch more than twice as much TV as people who are in their 20s but are far more likely to stick to old-school ways of watching TV.
But Nielsen found millions of people now enjoy the convenience of an on-demand world, often at lower cost than if they paid for a $100-plus monthly cable subscription.
Thomas Costello, 51, of Dallas, Ga., five years ago decided his cable bill was too high and sought ways to cut costs. So he attached his desktop to his TV. He now says he watched about half the time via streaming, just under half via DVR or on demand and 3 percent live. "I have more alternatives," he wrote on the Facebook Radio and TV blog page. "So I tend to watch more than before."
With 40 percent of DVR users speeding through commercials, advertisers now pay a premium for live TV events, which is why Fox is airing a live version of “Grease” later this month and CBS is pocketing $5 million per 30-second ad for this year’s Super Bowl.
Blacks tend to watch more TV than average, and that contributes to Atlanta's higher ranking, said Matt O'Grady, executive vice president and managing director of local media for Nielsen, which provides viewing data for advertisers and networks.
About the Author
