Broadcast TV Maintains Media Dominance

Author. Wayne Friedman. Source: MediaPost

Despite some small declines, national TV networks still have a dominating reach among all U.S. consumers, especially compared to digital media.

Pivotal Research Group says that during April 2017, national TV platforms reached 98.1% of all people. Among networks owned by the largest media owners, reach against all people declined on average by 2% per network.

By comparison, YouTube reached 73% of all people ages 13+ in April. (This excluded reach on mobile devices for 13-to-17-year-olds). Looking at another popular platform, Snapchat reached 24% against all people 13 and older.

Reach -- which refers to the total number of different people or households exposed at least once to a medium during a given period -- is an important metric for marketers because it can determine less duplication of customers.

Among all network media platforms, broadcast networks still command the best reach overall.

CBS reached 67.3% of all people during April, with ABC, NBC and Fox coming in between 64% to 58%. The CW and TNT were next, in the 40% range. These were followed by a number of cable networks including AMC, TBS, FX, USA, ESPN and HGTV in the low 30% range.