Study Finds Growth in Broadcast-Only Homes
Ion Media commissioned Nielsen to study the growth of broadcast-only television households and their overall impact in the marketplace, reports TVNewsCheck, which added that the report’s data “shows a steady rise in the number of broadcast-only homes over the last five years, increasing by 41% to 15.8 million households.
“The study supports Ion Media’s continued TV station and affiliate portfolio expansion. Ion said its upcoming acquisitions will expand its nationwide footprint to 63 stations, making Ion the only network to operate TV stations in all 20 of the largest U.S. markets.
“Broadcast television is also proving it isn’t just for older generations, as younger, Millennial viewers continue to discover its benefits. The report’s findings show that broadcast-only homes have a higher percentage of young viewers (median age 34.5) than total TV households (39.6). Additionally, 39% of broadcast-only homes have children in the household, compared to 34% of total TV households. Broadcast-only homes are also hard at work. According to the report, they have a greater composition of working head of householders than total TV homes, with 67% in the labor force.
“The growing multicultural population has placed an emphasis on programming that caters to diverse audiences, Ion says. “This has become increasingly important among broadcast-only homes, as the report concluded that they represent a significantly higher composition of Hispanic, African-American and Asian households, 42%, compared to 30% of total TV households.””
