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Time-Shifted Content More Popular Than Live for Millennials: CTA

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Whether they're watching it from a DVR or a streaming service, millennials are more likely to watch time-shifted than live video. According to a study by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), adults age 18 to 34 spend 55 percent of their viewing time on time-shifted content and only 45 percent on live. That figure reverses for those over 35, who spend 66 percent of their viewing time with live TV and 35 percent on time-shifted programming.

While time-shifting is good for program enjoyment, it's bad for advertisers. The CTA finds that only 38 percent will watch a full ad if they aren't required to. Not that they're that keyed in to the advertising, anyway: 57 percent simply ignore an ad when they're forced to watch one. A full two-thirds (66 percent) will hit the Skip button on a video ad as soon as it appears.

One bright spot for advertisers is that millennials are more willing to share personal information with advertisers if it means seeing relevant messages. Among all viewers, 67 percent willingly share their viewing habits with sites or apps they turn to often, while 64 percent want networks to know their viewing habits so they see relevant ads.

"Millennials clearly lead the pack in consuming streaming content—watching it when and where they want and, often, at the advice of predictive recommendations," said Steve Koenig, senior director of market research at the CTA. "The influence of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and widespread connectivity enables rapid discovery of new content and allows every generation to consume it how they want."

These findings come from CTA's Exploring Preferences for Personalized Content Consumption Experiences Study, which questioned 2,500 U.S. adults in April and May.

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