TV News Watchers More Decisive In Buying Habits

MediaDailyNews

by Wayne Friedman, May 5, 2014, 4:03 PM

Are TV news programming viewers different from other TV viewers -- and will they buy into more ad-related messaging? Two studies, commissioned by NBCUniversal,  says yes.

One is from Latitude, an international research consultancy firm based in Beverly, Mass.;  the second comes from Austin, Texas-based, Media Science, a research lab examining audience and consumer behavior.

Latitude says viewers consuming TV news “are more action-oriented, social, emotional, inquisitive, informed and alert.” They are 52% more likely to make a decision than when watching other programming; 25% more likely to add an item to a shopping list; and 30% more likely to buy a product.

Media Science says, after viewing news content, consumers were 20% faster at processing information and nearly 10% more accurate with that information than when viewing other content.

“News content is more relevant today than ever,” stated Linda Yaccarino, president of advertising sales at NBCUniversal. “These studies really give us insight into a valuable audience to consider how our advertisers engage with our different day parts.”
 
Latitude surveyed 1,600 individuals that measured the reasons why people consume different content.  MediaScience evaluated 200 consumers in Austin, Texas, focusing attention, memory and executive function, which it says is “the ability to effectively manage cognitive processes improving analysis, evaluation, problem-solving and decision-making skills.”