ABC News: Viewers Are Watching 50% More Live Video on Apple TV App

By Adam Flomenbaum 

abc_news_default_2000x2000_update_16x9t_384Lost Remote was on hand in June when ABC News unveiled its dedicated Apple TV app. As we wrote at the time:

A signature aspect of that live content is a 24/7 livestream—which begins as an originally produced, eight-hour mix of live and on-demand clips and constantly updates as news happens—will offer a mixture of content.  Users will see anchored and unanchored live events coming everywhere inside the White House briefing room to live breaking news updates exclusive for digital. At launch, the anchored portions of the livestream will come from ABC News digital anchors like Dan Kloeffler, and will include contributing reports coming from ABC News correspondents like Martha Raddatz and Jonathan Karl.  Correspondents like these will also create original reports for Apple TV not seen on ABC News broadcast.

So far, local content is one of the most popular features on ABC News on Apple TV. Last month, ABC News on Apple TV launched with nine major market stations and last week announced the addition of three more stations: KOAT in Albuquerque, WCVB in Boston, and KITV in Honolulu.

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After its first month live, ABC News has shared data about viewing habits of its Apple TV app users. Some standout numbers:

– Users watch 50% more ABC News live video on Apple TV than on mobile and desktop combined.

– Viewers spend 65% more time per visit on Apple TV than on desktop.

– The most popular “video” is the 24/7 live stream.

While the ABC News app does not exactly mirror its linear offering, the data it will be able to collect about viewer habits and preferences for its Apple TV product will be tremendously valuable to its online editors and TV producers thinking about content production. Though the 24/7 live stream will likely be the most popular selection among users, editors and producers will learn more from which short videos users are watching. Producing Apple TV-specific content also gives ABC News a great testing environment for new content ideas, and it will be interesting to see if – and how – the results of the Apple TV app extend to online and linear content.

Below, an infographic from ABC News with highlights from its first month on Apple TV:

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