A. Guttmann
Research Lead covering media
Media usage in the U.S. - statistics & facts
American consumers spend around eight hours of their day with digital media, roughly double the time invested in traditional formats. The shift in consumption towards digital media in the country started in 2018 and this trend has been growing ever since. Traditional media, while still important, are nevertheless losing the attention of U.S. users.
This and similar platforms will shape the future of media discovery and consumption. Consumers, who are now constantly online, prefer quick recommendations instead of lengthy browsing of catalogs and media libraries. Digital media and artificial intelligence go hand in hand in delivering such experiences.
Traditional TV is losing traction…
The biggest fans of TV viewing, based on time spent, are 55-to-64 year-olds, those with Hispanic or Latino roots, and men. Over 120 million U.S. households have TVs, with the largest local television markets being New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. However, close to two-thirds of American TV households cut the cord in 2023.…and VOD is looking for the support of advertising
Consumer spending on subscription video-on-demand, once very dynamic, has been showing signs of slowing down. Plagued by recession and rising inflation rates, video viewers are now reaching for cheaper visual entertainment solutions and turning to ad-supported video services.Audio consumption is also highly digitalized
Audio streams are a popular source of music listening in the United States. Close to a fifth of U.S. adults say they stream music at on a weekly basis, while Gen Z and Millennials are the largest groups listening to music that way. At the same time, just under 10 percent of Americans listen to owned music with the same frequency. Podcasts are unsurprisingly also popular with younger consumers, while little more than a quarter of 55-year-olds say they listen to this format each month. In general, those who don’t listen to podcasts say they have no time for it or can’t find anything new and useful in them. All in all, podcast users mainly turn to YouTube to stream their favorites, as video podcasts are growing in popularity.Is media consumption ruled by algorithms?
Today the number of internet users in the United States is only slightly higher than the number of social media users in the country, which means if they have internet, they most probably have social media profiles. For many Americans, social networks have become hubs for finding news, media, and entertainment, and more than a third says social media platforms are their go-to source for finding new movies or TV shows. Thanks to technological advancement in this area, such as artificial intelligence, publishers can now identify their target audiences with greater accuracy and deliver content to consumers based on their previous activities and interactions. The result is the user receives more relevant content which is better tailored to their preferences, a factor which helps drive future engagement. What is more, common recipients of such recommendations are Gen Z, who learn about upcoming entertainment options from ads on social media. Among this demographic in particular, BookTok is a good example of algorithms serving content suggestions based on user behavior.This and similar platforms will shape the future of media discovery and consumption. Consumers, who are now constantly online, prefer quick recommendations instead of lengthy browsing of catalogs and media libraries. Digital media and artificial intelligence go hand in hand in delivering such experiences.
