Viacom today released the results of “Getting With the Program: TV’s Funnels, Paths and Hurdles,” a study the company conducted to explore how audiences discover, watch and become fans of TV shows.
The study, which surveyed more than 1,500 U.S. Viacom viewers ages 13-44, showed that people who use multiple devices to consume content prefer live TV and have stronger network loyalty than those watching shows on a single screen. 79% of the study participants say having more ways of accessing shows helps them try more programs and 78% wouldn’t have become fans of some shows if they couldn’t watch in multiple ways.
The most interesting part of the research is what Viacom calls the “Funnels to Fandom” – the process of becoming a fan, Viacom has found, takes place in five steps: Discovery, Research, Selection, Fandom, and Sharing.
Discovery: in-person word of mouth is the #1 source for show discovery at 90%, closely followed by TV promos at 85% and word of mouth online or via social media at 78%.
Research: once aware of a show, viewers usually watch an episode to find out more (55%), check when it airs next (42%) or discuss with friends or family (35%). Nearly a quarter usually discuss the show online and via social media.
Selection: when deciding what device or source to trial a TV show on, live TV is the most popular source (57%), followed by streaming (22%), DVR (10%) and VOD (6%).
Fandom: once a viewer becomes a fan, they first want to know when the show airs on TV (61%), whether it is live (52%) and whether it is in-season or not (48%). When they’ve decided to continue watching, 53% watch on live TV.
Among fans, marathoning is popular across all age groups: 83% of Millennials say this is one of their favorite ways to watch, followed by 72% of Gen Xers and 65% of Digital Natives.
Sharing: 61% of viewers recommend a show to others in-person, while 38% invite others to co-view. Among Digital Natives (ages 13-17), invitations to co-view are most prevalent at 47%, followed by Millennials (ages 18-34) at 40% and Gen Xers (ages 35-44) at 29%.
Below, a multitude of great stats from the study:
– 47% of multi-screeners say it’s important to watch their favorite shows live, versus 23% of single-screeners;
– 45% of multi-screeners are loyal to a few networks, versus 28% of single-screeners; and
– 45% of multi-screeners wouldn’t give up pay TV because they rely on DVR, versus 22% of single-screeners.
– 73% become interested in new shows more quickly;
– 50% spend more time researching shows before watching;
– 81% watch a greater variety of shows;
– 83% are fans of more shows at the same time; and
– 61% agree that TV is a bigger part of their social life.
Viewers are very positive about TV’s future when asked to look ahead five years.
– 84% agree that they will have more options for where, how and what to watch.
– 83% will watch a greater variety of TV programs.
– 79% will keep up with more TV programs at the same time.
– 76% expect better recommendations from sources and devices.