Generation Z -people under the age of 23- is causing the biggest shift in TV watching habits ever. This group has vastly modified their routines. Gen Z is watching half of the amount of traditional TV than they did just 5 years ago! They are still watching TV programming - they're just watching it in a different way.
Dr. Garth Jowett, Professor of Communication at the University of Houston says, “Nobody in that group sits down to watch 4 hours of television at night. Right now young people are getting their television watching from non-traditional platforms. Whether it be on their Smart Phones, their iPads, streaming on a computer.”
Gen Z is leading the trend…and that is why major media companies are investing in streaming technology and studying the effects of viewers who just don't want to watch commercials any more.
Viacom is buying up digital brands and Disney is opening a family-friendly streaming service in 2019. And as the delivery of entertainment changes, so will the programming.
Programming experts at NBC and the BBC predict interests in real people's lives and story-telling and shopping combined.