Photography courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Most television viewers have heard of “Nielsen ratings.” But you can bet that Nielsen, the firm that follows what consumers watch on TV, are familiar with St. Louis.
Last May, the company published its first Local Watch Report, concluding that citizens between the ages of 25 and 54 in this region watch more TV than people in any other major city.
On average, St. Louisans watch five hours and 23 minutes of live TV each day, 55 minutes of DVR programming, and four minutes of online streaming content, the report noted. The 55 minutes of DVR viewing is No. 1 among the nation’s top 25 markets. In terms of live viewing, only Pittsburgh was higher than St. Louis—by a scant five minutes. And the online streaming figure is important, considering no city in America averaged more than seven minutes of daily streaming.
When you add the three categories, St. Louis is No. 1 in the nation.
St. Louis watched 11 more minutes of TV each day in 2012 than it did in 2011. (Last May's report was based on 2012 figures.) We weren’t alone in increased DVR usage, though: Forty-five percent of American households viewed DVR content in 2012—a 60 percent jump during the past five years.
People must be getting bored with amusement parks—or can’t afford them—because Orlando recorded the biggest jump in viewing, a leap of 25 minutes. Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, and Pittsburgh also saw increased viewership. On the other hand, Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Houston, and Los Angeles experienced an overall decline.
While Nielsen watches how Americans watch TV, Arbitron follows who is listening to the radio. According to an Arbitron report from last October, 94 percent of St. Louisans 18 or older use radio each week for an average of 12 hours, Monday through Sunday between the hours of 6 a.m. and midnight. A car or truck is where 84 percent of radio usage takes place, with satellite radio stations drawing 15 percent of listeners.
But St. Louisans are also listening to more online radio. Online radios stations, which include website-exclusive content, reach 86 million Americans for an average of almost 12 hours each week. About 33 percent of Americans who listened to radio during a week also listened to some type of online radio station.
With the St. Louis Cardinals reaching the World Series and TV viewership here drawing a hefty 37.9 Nielsen rating over six games, the region’s numbers could be even higher. Watch out, Pittsburgh.
Commentary by Alvin Reid
