A recent study by the Nielsen Company revealed that African Americans consume more hours of television than any other American ethnic group. It found that African Americans used their televisions an average of seven hours and 12 minutes each day (the most among ethnic groups); Asian Americans used their TVs an average of three hours and 11 minutes each day (the least among ethnic groups), and the total U.S. average of daily TV usage is five hours and 11 minutes.
Other key insights include African Americans used DVD players and video game consoles more than average, but whites were more likely to use DVRs. Some 40 percent of white families own DVRs, which is higher than average.
Many of us would debate or reject this finding. Nielsen’s senior vice president of public affairs and government relations, Cheryl Pearson-McNeil, offers a holistic perspective on why this information is important for both consumers and advertisers.
“It’s a good thing to know where your power lies,” Pearson-McNeil reassures. “Over-indexing is a good thing. Over-indexing means that a particular group is doing something more than normal. For example, we watch almost 80 hours of television per week. It means that programming should reflect the people who look like us. Also, if I am selling television sets and I know that African Americans tend to have more televisions in their homes than any other group, then that gives insight [on who to market to]. These studies are great because they showcase where the opportunities lie for advertisers, manufacturers and businesses.”
These findings definitely should work in our favor. African Americans have a case to make to the broadcast networks, demanding they diversify and include more black faces on quality TV programs. –yvette caslin
