TV Shows Lose Viewers In Commercial Breaks

Advertisers are not getting the volume of viewers they pay for, with a new study from Nielsen Media Research finding that top network shows in the US are losing a large part of their audience during commercial breaks.

Using its new minute-by-minute ratings analysis Nielsen found that audiences for the hit show, CSI, dropped by 15% during commercial breaks in February.

The data showed the trend continuing across the major networks, with other shows suffering a loss in audiences during commercial breaks.

Figures released last month by Nielsen revealed that network television advertising expenditure in the US dropped by 1.5% in 2005, with overall adspend up by 4.2% year on year.

Earlier research from Nielsen claimed that the US television market was stagnating, with the average household receiving 96.4 TV channels in 2005, rising by just four from 2004’s figure of 92.5.

According to eMarketer, US consumers are turning away from broadcast channels and spending more time with cable and satellite channels.

Multichannel penetration is on the rise in the UK as well, with digital reception currently at 64.2%, up by 10% from 54.4% at the beginning of 2004, according to the IPA.

Non-terrestrial viewing remained at 30% for the second successive quarter, seeing a year on year increase of 2.5%. The strong bias of the non-terrestrial audience remained a key feature, with 48.5% of under 16s viewing digital channels.

Nielsen Media Research: www.nielsenmedia.com