The television technology company Samba TV revealed its latest data on the audience in the United States. “State of the Viewership” analyzed nearly 50 billion linear and broadcast hours during the second half of 2022.
The results of the report affirm that linear television viewers were at a seven-quarter low. Linear TV is essentially traditional programs that are consumed at a certain date and time on a television channel. This shift was clearly affected by the large number of American households abandoning cable or satellite subscriptions. In fact, 52% of American homes currently do not have traditional cable or satellite television.
Cable and satellite about to leave US homes.
“We have reached a critical inflection point in television and viewing consumption,” said Ashwin Navin, CEO of Samba TV. “For the first time in history, the majority of Americans report that they no longer have a monthly cable subscription and that traditional linear advertising is totally unaffordable.”
Traditional linear television obviously contains more advertisements these days. The aforementioned report claims that 93% of all ad impressions during this time period only reached around 55% of the audience in the United States. However, as we’ve all seen recently, the streaming service is starting to expand the reach of its ads.
“Meanwhile, streaming has become ubiquitous among all age groups, and ad-supported streaming has gone completely mainstream with significant expansion on new platforms, including industry leaders like Netflix and Disney+ entering the world of the ads,” Navin continued.
Live Sports Currently Saving Linear TV
One aspect that has undoubtedly saved linear television so far is live sports. Samba TV has reported that National Football League games dominated the top 25 linear programs for 2022. Viewership for women’s sports is also at an all-time high. The report suggests that live women’s sporting events posted triple-digit growth year-over-year.
However, this linear bastion will almost certainly change as more live sports transition to streaming services. Soccer fans will no doubt understand the prediction, as many matches are already available exclusively on streaming services.
PHOTO: IMAGO / MIS
