Switching gears a bit amidst show panels at CBS’ TCA tour Monday, CBS closed its morning panels with a data presentation from CBS Vision’s David Poltrack and CBS Digital Media’s Marc DeBevoise.

“Fifty-six years and I finally get to play the big room,” Chief Research Officer of CBS Corporation and President of CBS Vision
 Poltrack jokingly started out.

Poltrack analyzed TV ratings in 2003 vs. today, saying that in total viewers, CBS is still No. 1 and that the audience has only grown for them.

Marc DeBevoise, EVP/GM of CBS Digital Media for CBS Interactive, added that live viewing is certainly still dominating for CBS, but the network is prepared for the many changes it sees coming.

“CBS feels infinitely well positioned going forward,” said DeBevoise.

Poltrack presented a few myths prevalent in the TV industry today, namely that TV viewing has declined in the past decade, millennials are entirely different than past generations and that TV advertising has lost its value.

He said that TV viewing has grown, millennial behavior is not all that different in what they’re watching and that TV advertising has gained value – “if executed effectively.”

Poltrack also made the point that millennials are just as feared as the generations that came before them.

He said that every time a new generation is affecting change, the research worries over how they will embrace the current landscape. Gen Xers (“the MTV generation,” as he called them) and the baby boomers caused the same worry. How will they consume TV? Will they react to what we’re doing or will they embrace change? He sums it up with the simple question: “Are millennials truly different than previous generations?”

Poltrack said that though “the range of measurement services may be limited,” that is slowly changing. In the next five years, he predicted, the focus may be on the 30-day rating instead of overnight Nielsen ratings. He also anticipates growth in primetime viewership among millennials in the near future.

Also a focus in the presentation is CBS’ digital power. James Corden, said Poltrack, has 50 million monthly views online and the Supergirl trailer has now been seen more than 20 million times (10 million in the first week alone).

“There is more TV out there than ever before for consumers to choose from, which is great for consumers and great for TV,” Poltrack said.

Tags:


  Save as PDF