When a hurricane strikes, people turn to local news.
That’s according to a survey conducted by TVB, the trade association for the local broadcast television industry called the Hurricane Harvey Media Usage study.
“As Hurricane Irma approached Florida markets, residents overwhelmingly chose their local broadcast TV stations over all other media for storm coverage, with 85 percent of survey respondents using local TV news for critical information. On a daily average, Floridians spent the most time with local TV news during the weather emergency, with over five hours of viewing, while Hispanic viewers spent nearly six hours,” said Steve Lanzano, TVB CEO.
The report says 31 percent of respondents reported they downloaded their local TV station’s mobile app specifically for information during situations like Irma.
1,193 people were interviewed in Miami, Ft. Myers, West Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville.
Here are the insights to the study.
- 85 percent of respondents used local broadcast TV news as their source for information.
- At 5 hours and 9 minutes, respondents spent more time on local television for Hurricane Irma coverage than any other news source on average per day.
- On average, Hispanic respondents spent 5 hours and 54 minutes with local television per day, almost an additional hour.
- Respondents’ top reason for using local TV websites/apps during storms was “the constant updates and latest information.”