In The News
Forbes
YouTube is Now Bigger Than Individual Cable Networks
“Following the results of a strong second quarter, Google’s stock jumped 16.3% — which added $65 billion in market value on Friday. During the earnings call, Google’s chief business officer Omid Kordestani said that YouTube is now bigger than any individual U.S. cable network for the key demographic of 18-49 year olds.
Kordestani said that YouTube homepage visitors are up over three times year-over-year and they spend more time watching videos much longer than before. Specifically, the ‘watch time’ on YouTube is up 60% year-over-year. TechCrunch reported that this has been YouTube’s fastest growth rate in two years. And the mobile watch time has more than doubled since last year. “
The Huffington Post
YouTube is Crushing Cable TV, According to Google
“YouTube is giving cable TV a run for its money.
The popular video-sharing platform -- which was acquired by Google in 2006 -- reaches more 18- to 49-year-olds in America than any U.S. cable network, said Google's chief business officer, Omid Kordestani, during an earnings conference call on July 16.
Despite increasing competition from Facebook, YouTube has seen a steep increase in its user engagement metrics. Visitors to YouTube's homepage are now up over three times year-over-year, per Kordestani. Meanwhile, "watch time" -- how much time users actually spend viewing videos -- is up 60 percent, the fastest growth rate the company has seen in two years.”
The Huffington Post
Kids Now Prefer Playing with Smartphones to Dessert
“Most kids these days are far exceeding the recommended maximum of two hours of screen time a day. But what do those stats really mean for parents?
To find out, market researchers at Miner & Co. Studio polled a nationally representative sample of 800 American moms and dads of kids ages 2 to 12 and asked them about their kids' screen time. What they found out is surprising: 41 percent of parents said their kids would choose playing with tablets over eating dessert, and nearly half said that they punish their kids by taking away their smartphones and only allowing their kids to watch TV.”
PC Mag
Tablet-Loving Kids Consider Watching TV a Punishment
“How did your parents punish you when you were a kid? Send you to your room? Make you sit silently in a corner somewhere? Take away the Game Boy or confiscate your video game controllers?
I'll bet that none of you, after hitting a sibling or mouthing off to mom, were told to go watch TV. If anything, TV privileges were revoked if the crime was dire enough.”
The Times
iPad generation told to watch TV as punishment
“For decades a ban on watching television was a standard punishment used by parents to bring errant children to heel.
Then, along came the tablet. In an illustration of just how disruptive new technologies can become, some families now make children watch television as a form of chastisement. The real punishment for today’s youth is to take away the iPad.”
Broadcasting and Cable
Study: Second Screen is First With Kids
“Kids prefer a mobile second screen as their first screen for video viewing over the TV set. That is according to a survey of 800 parents of kids 2-12 conducted by marketing and branding firm Miner & Co. Studio.
A majority of the parents polled (57%) said that their child ‘prefers a device other than the TV’ to watch video content.”
CBS News
Showtime launches online without a cable subscription
Showtime is now available as a standalone online streaming service so viewers can watch without a cable subscription. The channel joins rival HBO, which went "over the top" in April.
Showtime's streaming programming went live Tuesday on a wide range of devices and services, just in time for Sunday's season premiers of the network's hit shows "Masters of Sex" and "Ray Donovan." The $10.99 monthly fee gives viewers access to these and other Showtime original shows -- including on-demand access to every season of most past series -- along with movies and live broadcasts.
Tubefilter
Study Finds 57% of Kids Prefer Mobile Video to TV
“Miner & Co. Studio just released findings which should scare children’s television networks. The research and consulting firm found 57% of kids prefer watching video on portable devices like smartphones and tablets as opposed to on traditional television screens.
For its study, Miner & Co. interviewed 800 parents about their children’s viewing habits. According to AdAge, 39% of the parents said their children regularly watch the same content on not just one, but multiple devices at the same time. Plus, about half of the 800 parents said they “punish” their misbehaving children by removing mobile devices from them and forcing them to watch content on TV instead.”
MediaPost
TV Binge Viewing On Rise
“TV producers better ramp up TV show production -- otherwise we'll have apathetic binge-viewing TV consumers, according to a new study.
Now, seven of 10 U.S. TV viewers consider themselves ‘binge-viewers,’ per marketing and research company Miner & Co. Studio, which says these viewers say binging is ‘addictive.’”
Reuters
America is Addicted to Binge-Viewing; Side-Effects Include Missing Showers, Skipping Meals, Oversleeping and Having Nothing Left to Watch
“In a new national survey conducted by strategic research, marketing and brand consultancy Miner & Co. Studio, seven out of 10 U.S. TV viewers consider themselves binge-viewers – an activity that the same percentage of respondents says is “addictive” (download an infographic here). The study – Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: Binge-Viewing is Our New Favorite Addiction* – identifies binge-viewing as watching three or more episodes of one series in a single sitting, with Frequent Binge-Viewers being those who binge a few times per week or more and Infrequent Binge-Viewers those who binge once a month or less.”