Hearst- Argyle and Magid completed a research study of habits of 25-54 year olds. The study drilled down on the effectiveness of ads in TV newscasts. “Respondents reported that ads on local TV news drive greater product/service awareness than those within any other program type,” reads a press release previewing the results.” The study also looked at TV websites. “After search engines, local TV news websites are the most frequently used for local news and weather.” Interestingly, online video viewing is high on local TV news websites, “online video viewing of local TV news content is higher than that for any other genre,” 37% for local news compared to 31% each for cable news and primetime programming.
I looked at the study and found a key flaw in it, the study isolated the local news viewers (25-54), which is a broad group, and any statistician would tell Magid they need to do a better job with their sample. Not surprisingly, the study found that generally the myopically selected sample trusts the local TV. The study limited the sample of viewers to a naturally biased sample. If they would pick a sample of 20 to 30 year olds, the results would be drastically different.
Some nuggets from the press release:
- Viewers are more engaged with local news than most other genres;
- 55% of respondents cite TV as their primary source of news information, followed distantly by the Web (26%), and print newspapers (14%);
- Local TV news is more “DVR-proof” than other program formats; most viewers watch local news live, and even when they record these programs they are less likely to fast-forward through them;
- The greater loyalty audiences have toward local broadcast TV news is a factor in the effectiveness of advertising within the genre, and, in a key finding, respondents reported that ads on local TV news drive greater product/service awareness than those within any other program type.
· Other research findings point to a strong linkage between leading local television news brands and the Web:
- After search engines, local TV news websites are the most frequently used for local news and weather;
- Online video viewing of local TV news content is higher than that for any other genre – 37% for local news vs. 31% each for cable news and primetime programming, 24% for reality TV video and 23% for broadcast network news;
- Among weather sources on the web, local TV websites are the “most important source” for weather information;
- Among the online population, local-news viewers are relatively affluent technology adapters: 44% have DVRs, 32% have HDTV sets.
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