COVID-19 大流行的影响是广泛的，对生活和行业的影响将是长期的。去年，消费者被迫长时间呆在家中，他们向各种形式的媒体寻求新闻、娱乐和慰藉。但是，媒体行业和其他行业一样，并没有为大流行病迫使日常生活在一夜之间发生巨大转变做好准备。有鉴于此，当生活开始恢复在线时，使用数据来指导内容和受众的参与显得比以往任何时候都更加重要。在评估任何数据集时，重要的是要了解数据是如何收集的，以及导致观察到的趋势的外部影响因素。
To that end, Nielsen looked internally at its own process for estimating the ratings via our observational panel, a source of audience estimates that fuels the media industry. In order to comply with state and federal guidelines, and ensure the safety of Nielsen associates and the families that participate in our panels, Nielsen paused all in-home activities at the onset of the pandemic. A series of innovative procedures were put in place, aimed at protecting the overall fidelity of audience estimates and maintaining a robust sample size. During the COVID-19 period, Nielsen transformed the way it manages its panel to leverage more remote techniques and address the challenges of this unprecedented time. While this drove a sample size smaller than it was pre-COVID, it remains robust and representative.
Still, without a doubt, the pandemic amplified changes in media behavior, but many of the changes were underway when consumers began to quarantine in mid March 2020. Importantly, our national TV audience measurement data highlights that total TV viewing has declined in recent years. For example, in Q1 2019, on average, 20.8% of people 2 years old and older were using television across the total day, a number that declined to 19.1% in Q1 2021.
As would be expected, TV viewership, as well as other media consumption, spiked when people were forced to stay at home, with massive jumps in news viewing. But after the initial shock of the pandemic arriving passed, consumers’ shifting media habits continued.
In addition to being disruptive to daily life, the pandemic stymied content production. It also sidelined sports of all types until the third quarter of 2020. In aggregate, the combination of more repeats, delayed premieres, programs produced in homes (and basements) and the lack of sports heightened the challenges for the TV industry—challenges that inspired some audiences to seek out new content. SVOD programming, news 和 nostalgic comedy programs fared well, but the overarching shifts in total TV viewing are bigger than specific program genres.
从现有的节目选择来看，2020 年 10 月传统电视上的新节目与 2019 年同期相比减少了 13%。这导致节目重复率增加了 75%。此外，尼尔森对广播节目的分析表明，2020-2021 电视季的首播日期比上一年晚了近一个月（29 天）(1)。
随着新的线性节目越来越少，向视频点播（VOD）内容的转变也就不足为奇了。凭借大牌明星、巨大的制作价值和流行文化知名度，视频点播选项的收视份额持续增加。从 2019 年 12 月到 2020 年 12 月，在具备流媒体功能的家庭中，直接流向电视玻璃的总时长从 1,177 亿分钟增加到 1,320 亿分钟。视频点播领域也在不断扩大，Netflix 去年新增了创纪录的 3700 万用户(2)，Disney+ 推出仅 13 个月，用户数量就超过了 8600 万(3)。
Importantly, traditional TV engagement isn’t just the result of fragmenting video options. Consumers continue to grow their audio streaming diets, especially while staying at home more. Streaming audio consumption increased by 39% on computer/mobile between May 2020 and January 2021. Podcasts, even without daily commutes for many, continue garnering increased listenership, with particular growth among multicultural listeners. In aggregate, the 18+ podcast audience grew by 8 million consumers last year. And what’s more, evening listenership (7 p.m.-midnight) increased 27% and 26% last year among persons 18-34 and persons 35+, respectively.
在今年的电视节目开播前/开播前，媒体买家和卖家需要注意这些趋势，并了解 COVID 不仅对节目和内容，而且对行业各个方面产生的独特影响。
大流行病既阻碍了媒体行业的发展，也加速了媒体行业的发展，成为消费者群体的两极分化因素。多年来，媒体消费一直在碎片化，尤其是随着消费者开始接触新的选择和平台。流媒体选择很容易成为近期电视收视率下降的替罪羊，但鉴于电视总收视率包括联网电视收视率，现实情况是，电视玻璃之外的收视也在碎片化。其他设备上的内容消费也是原因之一，并进一步说明了内容的力量。消费者总是倾向于吸引他们的选择，我们所看到的变化证明他们会根据自己的生活方式和偏好来选择媒体。真正的受众测量数据可以提供对这些偏好的清晰洞察，拥有这些洞察力可以帮助指导未来的决策，无论情况有多么前所未有。
To learn more about these trends and to understand how Nielsen is working to help the media industry interpret the full impact COVID-19 has had on measurement, download a full report.
