i3 - March/April 2020 - 43

Business

By Gary Arlen

C S PAC E

initial airings. Among viewers in the 18 to
49 age brackets, nearly two-thirds watch
prime time shows via delayed viewing.
"Most of the audience for Fox's animated
comedies watch on other platforms,"
Nielsen said.

How, Not Just When

Many recent releases also have brought
the platform issue front and center.
Netflix and Amazon Prime are releasing
their top original productions theatrically to qualify for Oscar buzz. That tacime-shifted entertainment has a new dilemma, thanks
tic picked up with the holiday season
release in theaters of The Irishman,
to streaming video. NBCUniversal's new Peacock serMarriage Story, The Report, The
vice plans to stream The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy
Aeronauts and Dolemite Is My Name.
Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers shortly after they are
But now that process is being reevalurecorded around dinnertime each evening (at 8 and 9 pm ET
ated. Amazon is reportedly cutting back
respectively) - before the shows are telecast via broadcast
its advance theatrical releases to bring
affiliates at about 11:30 pm and 12:30 am ET.
original productions to its own online
audience as quickly as possible. More, big
theater chains such as Regal and AMC
It's the first time that "live" TV programs well as video). That total includes about
are insisting on 90-day exclusivity before
will stream before their linear airing - a 6.5 hours with digital media, 3.5 hours
films are streamed online, seeking to
with TV and 1.5 hours with radio, and
major shift for local TV affiliates who
draw in patrons for as long as possible.
tallies "multitasking time," so that an
could face potential viewership changes
This brings up the issue of converhour watching TV while simultaneously
(although early streaming may only be
gence of the movie and TV industries -
surfing online counts double. Nielsen
available to Peacock Premium viewers).
most noticeably
claims that "appointment
Plus, viewers who are watching the
distinguished by their
viewing" is now rare.
streamed "late night" shows during
Oscar versus Emmy
Except for live sports and
prime time will not be watching regular
awards guidelines.
special events like the
TV schedules.
Traditionalists, including
Oscars and "hits" such as
This new service is another reminder
Steven Spielberg, have
that when it comes to video distribution, Game of Thrones or NCIS,
contended that streamfew shows had at least 10
we're now dealing with minutes and
ing video releases are
million viewers for their
hours - not weeks and months.
"TV movies." Yet the
original real-time airing
Academy of Motion
plus same-day viewing
Consuming Content
Picture Arts and Sciences
(via DVR or on-demand
Timing - an important distribution
Netflix and
year dismissed a prostreaming).
issue for video releases - has become
Amazon Prime last
posal that would have
"Delayed viewing" is a
more precise. Now timing strategies
are releasing
made it harder for
central focus of Nielsen's
reflect the overhaul in audience attentheir top origi- streaming films to be
analyses. Thanks to indition and viewing patterns. With the rise
vidual time-shifting, ratof digital media consumption, Nielsen
nal productions nominated for Oscars.
All of this means that
has deemed that screen time largely rep- ings for primetime dramas
theatrically to
the
"where" as well as the
resents a shift of attention between plat- climbed 40% higher and
qualify for
"when" of viewing will be
even "less popular shows"
forms - since most viewers already
Oscar buzz.
under consideration for
found 20% more viewers
consume about 12 hours of media per
quite a while.
day (including audio and social media as up to five weeks after

Timing is Everything

Top to Bottom: Kentoh/Getty Images, Courtesy of Netflix, Courtesy of Amazon Prime.

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