Study: 2016 is the summer of peak TV and it's impacting the film industry
Miner & Co. Studio, an entertainment industry insights company, this week released a new study that explores viewer attitudes toward “peak TV.” Peak TV, a now widely-used term, was first coined by FX president John Landgraf to describe how much quality TV programming there is right now.
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But is there so much good TV that viewers are overwhelmed with choices about what to watch?
According to the Miner & Co. study, while 73 per cent of people agree that 2016 is the “summer of peak TV,” 77 per cent also say that there is no such thing as too much good TV, and more, that having so many options does not stress them out.
While viewers estimate peak TV almost equally among all three types of “networks” – broadcast, cable, and streaming – when asked to choose, they find that streaming services prove most reliable. This is a major departure from just a few years ago, when peak TV was associated mainly with HBO and AMC.
“For the past few years, streaming has drowned out conversations about broadcast and cable – and it continues to gain strength as a preferred platform for viewing,” said Robert Miner, President, Miner & Co. Studio. “But investment in quality scripted content has, at least for now, captured viewers’ attention across all options – broadcast, cable and streaming. The choice, convenience and control streaming offers will continue to hold very high appeal, but content is key – essentially in attracting and retaining viewers. So, Peak TV isn’t just a benefit for the TV audience, the greater investment in quality scripted shows is the key to survival for broadcast, cable and streaming content providers.”
This proliferation in great TV content is extending into the summer, which is impacting other modes of entertainment. Summer was once a time that shows would go on hiatus, and new programming was on the lighter side. That is no longer the case.
Viewers are not just catching up on fall series this summer, they are watching new programming like HBO’s The Night Of or Season 2 of USA’s Mr. Robot. According to the study, more than one in three viewers are watching more new programming this summer compared to past summers, including one in two millennials.
With so much good TV, there is less reason to go to the movies, and two of three respondents said they plan to go to the movies less due to higher quality TV options. Three out of four respondents also said that TV stars are now on same plane as movie stars when they are deciding what to watch.
