Coronavirus television habits: How viewership has changed in quarantine
Americans are watching 8 hours more TV per week, according to Comcast
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In response to stay-at-home orders and other measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus, people are turning to their televisions, according to one report.
On Wednesday, Comcast published a report about television habits and viewership changes during the coronavirus pandemic.
One of the key findings is households are watching eight more hours of television a week since early March, from 57 hours a week to 66 hours a week.
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The report also found the previous distinctions between weekday and weekend television-watching have shifted significantly, with more people watching television during the week than is typical.
In fact, Comcast reported that in the last two weeks, more people are watching television on Monday than they are on Saturday.
About 40 percent of people are also watching more television later at night, according to the report. Meanwhile, there’s been a 6 percent decrease in viewership between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m.
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Comcast also reported on what kinds of content people are watching.
According to the report, taste in television hasn’t changed much -- viewership has only increased.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMCSA | COMCAST CORP. | 40.36 | -0.21 | -0.52% |
Dramas have continued to be the most popular genre, followed by news, comedy, reality and action and adventure.
However, there has been an overall increase of 64 percent in viewership of news programming, according to Comcast.
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The report also found that there’s also been a 50 percent increase in video-on-demand usage and a decrease in DVR usage.
Comcast reported there has also been an increase in voice commands such as “surprise me” and “what to watch,” which indicates people are looking for new shows to watch.