The fall TV season is nearly here and that means America’s favorite shows will soon be back on the air. With the fall season heating up in the coming weeks, Comcast announced the findings of its second annual “TV Pulse Survey” that revealed America’s most-anticipated new and returning primetime series.
The survey also discovered that more consumers than ever before plan to watch their favorite TV shows anytime, anywhere using time-shifting technologies such as VOD, DVRs and the Internet.
“Time-shifting has hit the mainstream and is changing the way people watch TV,” said Diana Kerekes, VP/Entertainment Services for Comcast. “The results of our ‘TV Pulse Survey’ underscore more consumers are watching their favorite shows when and how they want to watch them.”
While more than 80% of consumers state they regularly watch primetime television, and 80% plan to watch it live, consumers are also using time-shifting technologies. More than two-thirds of consumers (62%) have watched primetime TV series through technologies that include VOD, DVR and the Internet. Time-shifted viewing is on the rise with 61% using these technologies more than one year ago, and 84% using them more than just three years ago.
National Consumers Planned Viewing This Fall
•Live – 80%
•DVR – 41%
•Online – 17%
•On Demand – 16%
•Mobile – 1%
Comcast Customers Planned Viewing This Fall
•Live – 81%
•DVR – 32%
•On Demand – 30%
•Online – 18%
•Mobile – 1%
Top reasons consumers are using time-shifting technologies include personal schedules (79%) and programming conflicts (63%).
New Fall TV Season Shows
Half of consumers polled (49%) say the new fall TV season is important to them. This is especially true among those who are under age 55, are female and have children in the household. “Serious” trumps “smiles” as consumers are most excited to watch:
•Dramas (75%)
•Comedies (68%)
•Movies (57%)
•News/Educational (50%)
•Sports (45%)
•Reality shows (38%)
When asked about several of the new TV series that are creating the most buzz, consumers ranked the following shows in order of preference, including:
•Hawaii Five-O (40%)
•No Ordinary Family (23%)
•The Event (21%)
•Nikita (9%)
•Lone Star (8%).
Consumers were also asked to rank the most-anticipated returning shows, including:
•The Good Wife (21%)
•Glee (19%)
•Modern Family (18%)
•Mad Men (15%)
•The Prisoner (13%)
•Community (9%)
•Gossip Girl (6%)
In the past year, television series have surged to the top viewed category On Demand. Overall, titles available on Comcast On Demand are viewed more than 350 million times each month, and this service offers more than 17,000 choices each month.
Primetime Viewing Behavior
Given so many choices, it’s no surprise that of the 80+% of consumers that regularly watch primetime, nearly half say they watch or record three to four primetime TV series in a typical week (44%). In addition, the majority of viewers plan to watch or record TV during the 8:00 – 10:00 pm timeframe (87% between 8:00 – 9:00 pm and 88% between 9:00 -10:00 pm).
