Young adults not deserting TV, says CAB

It is a myth that young adults are deserting television, with TV’s share of total video time up year-on-year, according to new research by the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau (CAB).

The US trade association’s new study ‘Young Adult TV Usage – Myth vs Reality’ says that video consumption “is additive, not a replacement phenomenon,” with time spent watching TV among adults aged 18 to 24 up 2% year-on-year.

According to the study, adults in this demographic watched 113 hours and 14 minutes of TV per month in Q4 2013, up from 111 hours, 20 minutes in Q4 2014.

“Television’s share of total video time has increased to 88% – up from 84% year ago,” said CAB. Including

TV viewing and videos viewed on computers and phones, users watched 128 hours 43 minutes of content a month in Q4 2013, according to the study.

The CAB also claimed that time spent on the internet and watching video on computers is down 18% and 13% respectively among adults aged 18 to 24 – “a trend we have noticed quarter after quarter.”

However, video watching on phones was up 14% year-on-year to six hours, 29 minutes per month.

“When adults 18-24 are online, cable sites are top across most genres,” the study added.