The New York Times recently reported television viewership is stronger than ever while consumption of print media slows. Advertisers continue to choose TV for its large audience and immersive experience.  

“Subscribers to print newspapers have gone missing, as everyone knows. Book publishers are also wondering where readers have disappeared to. And yet television stands out as the one old-media business with surprising resilience. Though we are spending a record amount of time online, including a record amount of time watching video, we are also watching record amounts of very old-fashioned television, according to Nielsen Media Research. Our attachment to the medium, of course, is obscured by the splintering of our attention across so many cable offerings, in addition to the major networks.

 Why is the newspaper business losing readers at an accelerated rate while television viewership is stronger than ever? Here’s a speculative idea: A tipping point has been passed in the competition between print and screen that has been under way since the beginnings of broadcast TV and now continues with video and other media.

 Consumers are increasingly avoiding newspapers - and books, too - because the text mode is now used so infrequently that it can feel like a burden. People are showing a clear preference for a fully formed video experience that comes ready to play on a screen, requiring nothing but our passive attention.”  

 -   NYT, RANDALL STROSS

Read the full story Why Television Still Shines in a World of Screens