Dramas Account for Largest Share of TV Viewership, Timeshifting & Ad Spend

NEW YORK: Season-to-date in U.S. prime time, television dramas account for 41 percent of viewership, 58 percent of timeshifted viewing and 35 percent of TV ad spend, according to new Nielsen research.

For prime time, sports is the second most-watched category (22.5 percent), followed by reality shows (15.5 percent), then sitcoms (11.4 percent), then news (9.6 percent). However, sitcoms’ share has risen steadily over the last three years, from 8.5 percent in 2009 to 9.9 percent in 2010 to last year’s 11.4 percent.

Product placement occurred most often in reality shows (4,664 instances), followed by drama (2,361), then sitcoms (1,071). $72 billion was spent on TV advertising in the U.S. in 2011, with $14 billion allocated during these five traditional prime-time genres. While drama took 35 percent of the pie, sports followed with 29 percent, then reality with 17 percent, then sitcoms with 15 percent, then news at 4 percent.

The Advertising & Audiences Report also found that, when watching at home, 43 percent of timeshifted prime-time broadcast programming is played back the same day it was recorded and 88 percent is played back within three days. Dramas are the most frequently timeshifted (58 percent), with sitcoms in a distant second (16 percent), followed by reality (14 percent), sports (8 percent) and news (4 percent).