I got this BusinessInsider/Comscore story about BuzzFeed today from a friend, by email. When I opened it, I fell off my chair.
Which is why he sent it.
The most stunning thing I've read yet, that just symbolises the online revolution that has and is, taking place. It's proof positive now, of the takeover and the switchover from TV to online.
Just look at the monthly reach of BuzzFeed in this graph for 18-34's.
Shocking stuff for TV Stations....
BuzzFeed now reaches 50% of US millennials (18-34's) a month according to Comscore/BusinessInsider and this is terrifying reading for TV.
BuzzFeeds monthly reach outstrips CBS, Fox and NBC.
In fact it's winning in all ages and spelling the end of TV in terms of audience decline, audience attention but notably in terms of advertising money. And be assured, exactly this same model is being replicated in every country including Ireland. The same thing is happening everywhere.
Put simply, advertising money chases audience and as BuzzFeed climbs it will take those big brand lucrative TV dollars with it. Whilst the TV stations will go into financial decline through that same lost advertising. They simply cannot hold their audiences no longer.
Look too above, at the BuzzFeed video views and Subscriber growth!!! Pretty impressive!!!
50% of the views are from mobile. And those video views are peaking for BuzzFeed in the evening. That's right, smack dab in the middle of prime time TV. The expensive advertising bit.
And that signals a strong probability that the younger 18-34's are having a look at BuzzFeed....during the evening ad breaks! Not what an advertiser wants to hear.
And as The BusinessInsider story says, advertisers want to reach consumers with messages that have sight, sound and motion. Those advantages don't just apply to TV anymore.
I've never seen reliable data like this, that clearly shows the media pulling power of digital and all of this happening in the lucrative TV space - once regarded as the bastion of all things advertising.
And then we've only spoken here about the impact BuzzFeed has had - nevermind the others!
This ladies and gentlemen, is the end..... Or the start...... It depends on where you're sitting.
But one thing it sure is, the world has just changed. Totally.
Hi Steve, Thanks for sharing this info and it certainly seems to put TV into a bleak spot. I wonder, does this data mean that this audience are watching/using BuzzFeed exclusively and not also utilising BuzzFeed in addition to TV viewing? Could it also be that when BuzzFeed usage and viewing peaks, that it was TV which led to this increase?
ReplyDeleteYes. You can see when BuzzFeed peaks on the chart - it's generally post 6pm. In prime time TV viewing. Given the nature of BuzzFeed it's likely that users are "catching up" in the evening, perhaps whilst watching TV, perhaps during TV's Ad breaks. For whatever reason, the real shocker is the staggering monthly reach of BuzzFeed compared to big TV players like NBC and CBS. That's a problem for TV, no matter when they're NOT watching!
ReplyDeleteHi Stuart,
ReplyDeleteApologies for calling you Steve. I owe you a coffee and sticky bun to make up for it.
I have to agree that the BuzzFeed reach is very surprising and I wonder if there is any data on them for Ireland?
Camillus
Steve is good Camillus. No there's no data on Ireland but BuzzFeed unlikely to be highly visited from here as such. It's still a little unknown this side of the pool. But the trend is the interesting bit and still holds. It's building a picture - commonsense tells us that over 50% Irish people are active on Facebook mainly eveningtime, likewise circa 20% on Twitter, about 16% using 2nd screens whilst watching TV, 200,000 Irish homes with ad-free Netflix, proliferation of devices ipad/smartphone/kindle, massive cord cutting on TV subs and now growth of online "news" used regularly....all leads to a conclusion that Traditional TV is in some difficulty.
ReplyDelete