Hypothetical Study: Viewing Habits of Identical Shows on Adult Swim and Fox

Hypothetical Study:Viewing Habits of Identical Shows onAdult Swim and FoxConducted by Veronica DeSantis, Amanda Watson, Jenevieve Ruiz, and Kelly Murray

VS.

7:30/6:30 c8/7 c8:30/7:30 c9/8 c9:30/8:30 c10/9 c10:30/9:30 c11/10 cAnimation Domination

Bob's Burgers Family Guy Adult Swim Bob's BurgersBob's BurgersFamily GuyFamily GuySunday Night SchedulesThe purpose of this study is to explore the difference in viewing habits and medium among different age groups when comparing two popular networks in direct competition with one another. As you can see two of the more popular animated shows on television today, Bobs Burgers and Family Guy, air on both Adult Swim and Fox on the same night. However, the programs air earlier in the night on Fox and later in the night on Adult Swim. Our hope is to discover whether each network attracts the same or different demographics and the methods viewers use to watch that networks content. We recognize that there may be a difference between the demographics a network targets and the demographics which are actually watching.

We will demonstrate within our research that both networks have a competitive history. This history has resulted in major programing gambles and risks which were meant to attract their target demographic of 18-49 year olds. It has also caused both networks to reevaluate how best to reach their main audience, and whether traditional television or online viewing is more profitable.

Most Watch on TV; No Network PreferenceHypothesis:Students tend to watch online or on mobile devicesStudents will prefer to watch Adult Swim even if Fox offers the same program

Survey Results:Most participants watched Fox and Adult Swim on their TVsMost participants who watched Bobs Burgers on TV watched on Fox but most participants who watched Family Guy on TV watched on Adult Swim

We conducted a custom survey among students in order to test our hypothesis that students would prefer to watch online or on mobile devices and that when give the option to watch a program on Fox or Adult Swim, they would prefer Adult Swim.The results from our custom survey do not support our hypothesis that most students would watch online or through a mobile device since most participants watched both Fox and Adult Swim on their TVs. It also does not show a clear trend of students choosing Adult Swim when given the choice between the same program aired on both networks. This is because Adult Swim was preferred for only one out of the two programs. Further study would be needed to confirm a link between student status and Adult Swim preference.

Preliminary ResearchComScore for Digital; Nielsen for TVNielsen:Leading company for TV ratingsAlready includes hand held devices in ratings numbersUses Online Campaign RatingscomScore:Leader for digital ad measurementRecently paired with Google for real time measurement Uses Validated Campaign Essentials

Both are subscription services

We found that Nielsen was the major company which supplies viewership measurement for TV in the form of gross ratings points (GRP). Nielsen also has just began to include views on mobile devices as part of its ratings in fall of 2014. However, only views of the show that include the same commercials which aired on TV will be counted. In 2015 Nielsen will launch a new service which measures viewership across web browsers, internet connected TVs, and gaming consoles in a way thats a equivalent to TV ratings. These measurements are part of their Online Campaign Ratings (OCR). Having one measurement across platforms is expected to encourage advertisers to spend more on digital platforms as they can be more confident about who theyre reaching and therefore the value of the slots they buy. Whereas Nielsen is the leader in TV measurement comScore is the leader in the digital realm. Therefore its natural that they would also try to create a TV ratings comparable way to measure digital viewership. As part of ComScores Video Metrix 3.0 they can track viewership over desktops, mobile phones, and handheld devices. These measurements are part of their validated Campaign Essentials (vCE). ComScore has recently paired with Google to measure the impact of digital ad campaigns in real time. Eventually this technology will be expanded to measure campaigns across both online and TV. Unfortunately for our project, both Nielsen and comScore are services which require paid subscriptions to access. Therefore we were not able to incorporate either TV or online ratings from these companies into our project.

Sources:Bond, Shannon. Nielsen launches system to measure online audiences. Financial Times. 21 October 2014. . Hof, Robert. With New comScore Ad Measurement Deal, Google Keeps Pushing for More TV Ad Budgets. Forbes. 10 February 2014. . Liyakasa, Kelly. Nielsen, comScore at a Cross-screen Measurement Crossroads. Ad Exchanger. 12 May 2014. . Stanley, T.L. Nielsen Exec: Dont Expect to Be Impressed by Impact of of Mobile TV Ratings. Ad Week. 9 July 2014. .

Online Video Streaming: The Future of TVThere has been a variety of online options for viewing mediaThere is also an increasing amount of original content created for online audienceVideo streaming services have become a disruptive influence on the traditional television business TNSMore than one-third (34 percent of households have streamed video within the month of July 2014.Majority of these streaming households also purchase traditional subscription video service, such as cable or satellite.

Sources:

TNS Survey: Streaming Video on the Rise Entertainment Close-up. Business Insights: Essentials. 28 July 2014. 22 Oct. 2014.http://bi.galegroup.com.libproxy.newschool.edu/essentials/article/GALE%7CA376217975/8feb88704579e6788993faa7fb666b80?u=nysl_me_newschHandheld Devices: Taking a Chunk Out of TV viewershipExperian Marketing Services, a global provider of integrated consumer insight, targeting data quality and cross-channel marketing, stated that 67% of young adults watch streaming or downloaded video during a typical week. The analysis states that 24% of all U.S. adults and 42% of smartphone owners watch streaming videos each week. This has led to the rise of cord-cutting, where consumers are using high-speed Internet and not cable or satellite TV.More than 26% watch both Pay TV and streaming, compared to 8% that only watch streaming video.Pay TV represents the majority, but it is becoming less popular these days

Sources:

Cord-cutters grew by 44 percent in the past four years, with 7.6 million households using high-speed Internet for streaming or downloading videos instead of traditional cable or satellite television. PR Newswire. 21 April 2014. 25 Nov. 2014.http://bi.galegroup.com.libproxy.newschool.edu/essentials/article/GALE%7CA365442369/d1080b2f8c7505fa602f93813af82dc8?u=nysl_me_newsch

Fox Finding it Hard to Compete with Adult SwimFox: Animation Domination Sunday prime time Recently canceled Animation Domination HD Saturday late nightCouldnt reach young target demoStreams full free episodes online

Adult Swim: Shares channel space with Cartoon NetworkCurrently number one in 18-49 demoReliant on licensed content from Fox for prime time hoursStreams full free episodes onlineNext we did some background research on Adult Swim and Fox. For the purpose of this project we were specifically interested in the Animation Domination programming block which airs Sunday nights on Fox. In the 2013-2014 season this block was comprised of The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, and Bobs Burgers. However, in fall of 2014 Fox introduced live action shows into the lineup effectively ended the blocks run. Animation Domination also spawned a Saturday late night programming block called Animation Domination HD which featured original short form animated content. Although Fox denied that this block was meant to compete with Adult Swim, it did air opposite of it and was lead by the former head of programming at Adult Swim. This block was eventually cancelled as it was not reaching the young target audience but rather its average viewer was 47. Animation Domination HD does continue to exist online, however, and this online platform will be used to test new shows which will eventually be added to the Sunday night prime time lineup.

Adult Swim was originally created as a late night adult oriented programming block for Cartoon Network. In 2005 it split from Cartoon Network and is considered its own network for ratings purposes though it still shares channel space with Cartoon Network. Adult Swim is the top rated network in total day viewing in the 18-49 demographic. Because of its success it has recently expanded to air content from 8pm to 6am daily. Although Adult Swim started as only animated programming, much like Cartoon Network, it has since expanded into live action. Since its original content is often experimental and too risque or crude for prime time, Adult Swim has filled its 8pm to 12am schedule with licensed content from Fox. This includes the shows American Dad, Family Guy, King of the Hill, and The Cleveland Show.

Sources:Adams, Erik. Fox pulls Animation Domination HD from Saturday nights. A.V. Club. Onion Inc. 17 April 2014. .Carter, Bill. Adult Swim, No. 1 with Young Adults, Is Expanding. The New York Times. 4 February 2014. . Fox Not Trying to Out-Do Adult Swim In Nets Animation Push: TCA. Deadline Hollywood. PMC. 8 Jan. 2013. .Lee, Hye Jin. "All kids out of the pool!: brand identity, television animations, and adult audience of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim." PhD diss., University of Iowa, 2013. . P. 3, 5.O'Connell, Michael. Fox Plans Animation Domination HD for Primetime in 2015, Nixes Late Night. The Hollywood Reporter. 17 April 2014. .

Hypothetical StudyPurpose:Compare identical programs across networks

Why Hypothetical: Limited access to resources and time

Population:All households which own a TV or mobile device

Sample:Probability sampleSystematic sampling

Distribution and Collection:Mail and onlineSample Size: 1000 participants

Margin of Sample Error: +/- 3.1%

Confidence Interval: 95%

Since both Adult Swim and Fox air the programs Bobs Burgers and Family Guy, we decided we were interested in comparing these two programs across networks. Therefore the purpose of our study is to determine how viewer demographics and viewing methods differ between identical television shows on Adult Swim and Foxs Animation Domination Sunday night programing block.

Ideally we would have liked to conduct a full scale survey but because of limitations on time and resources, as we had no funding or access to 3rd party subscription data sources, we decided to create a hypothetical study instead. We hope that this hypothetical study could be the basis of a real study in the future. If we had unlimited resources we would have done as follows:

Our population would be all households which own a TV, mobile phone, tablet, desktop computer, or laptop computer. We would then take a systematic sampling from this population since it is more efficient than a simple random sample.

We would distribute and collect the survey to participants in a way which did not rely only on technology as we believe that participants which are comfortable taking an online survey may also be more comfortable watching TV programs online. So in order to avoid potentially biasing our study we would distribute it by mail and give participants the option to either fill out and mail back a paper survey or take the survey online. We believe that still allowing participants to take the survey online if they wish, since its very convenient, may lower our nonresponse error.

We would take a sample size of 1000 participants as this corresponds with the 95% confidence interval which we chose because it is the most widely used in market research as it is more cost and time effective than a 99% confidence interval. We also decided we wanted a margin of error of 3.1%. For the sake of calculating our sample sized we assumed maximum variability in respondents answers. This is because we were not able to access ratings data which could have allowed us to estimate the two networks viewerships so we assumed it was the worst case scenario.

Sources:

Determining the Size of a Sample. Burns, Alvin and Ronald Bush. Marketing Research. Pearson Education, 2014. 236- 261. Selecting the Sample. Burns, Alvin and Ronald Bush. Marketing Research. Pearson Education, 2014. 208-235.

Students Prefer Convenience;Adult Swim? Hypothesis: Students will tend to watch programs online or mobile devices Students will prefer to watch on Adult Swim

Population is studentsConvenience SampleReferral SampleOnline Survey

Since we knew that conducting the study we wanted to would be beyond our capabilities as students, we decided to design a custom survey to test a hypothesis we had. This hypothesis was that students tended to watch TV programs online or on mobile devices rather than on their TV and that when offered the identical program on Fox and Adult Swim, they would prefer to watch on Adult Swim. This hypothesis was based on our preliminary research which found that younger people are more likely to consume media on digital devices and on our research into Adult Swim which uncovered their dominance in the 19-49 demographic.

Our population was anyone who is currently enrolled in a college or university. We took a convenience sample of this population because of our limited resources and time. This was done through the researchers posting the survey on social media and asking friends and family to spread it to their contacts. Therefore this was also a referral sample. The survey was created with the Qualtrics software and could only be taken online so the survey was also limited to those who had internet access.

Sources:

Selecting the Sample. Burns, Alvin and Ronald Bush. Marketing Research. Pearson Education, 2014. 208-235. Most Watch Fox; on TVFox:40% watched in the past week89% watched on their TV

Adult Swim:30% watched in the past week64% watched on their TV

40% of participants who were aware of the Fox network watched it within the past week while only 30% of participants who were aware of Adult Swim watched that network in the past week. 89% of participants who watched Fox within the past week watched it on their TV while only 64% of those who watched Adult Swim in the past week watched it on their TV. Some Prefer Fox; Some Adult SwimBobs Burgers:10% watched in the past week100% watched on Fox

Family Guy:21% watched in the past week71% watched on Adult Swim

10% of participants watched the program Bobs Burgers in the past week while 21% of participants watched Family Guy in the past week. Of those who watched Bobs Burgers in the past week on their TV, 100% of them watched on Fox. Whereas 71% of participants which watched Family Guy in the past week on their TV watched on Adult Swim. Limitations of Custom SurveyPossible overrepresentation of TV watchersOnline distribution of surveyLimitations on time and resourcesNot representative of populationOnly TV watchers were asked about network choiceRelied on recallOur custom survey had many limitations which may have impacted our results. The majority of participants had access to both Fox and Adult Swim through their TVs rather than online or through mobile devices which may have lead to TV watchers being over represented. Since our survey was distributed online this made it so that people who did not have online access could not participate. Its also possible that people who are comfortable taking a survey online may be more likely to watch media online as well which could have biased our results. We had limited time and resources so we were not able to access reports from Nielsen or comScore. We used a convenience sampling method so our sample was not representative of our population. In regards to the questions on our survey, one limitation was that only those who watched a show on their TV were asked which network they watched on. This was meant to eliminate possible confusion but also limited our results as we do not know what network provided the programs which were watched by mobile on online viewers. The survey also relied on participants recall about what networks and TV programs theyd watched in the past week which may have been incorrect or incomplete. What We Would ChangeClarify questions are about Fox network, not affiliatesAsk all participants which network they watched onAsk those who watched a show on another network to specify which networkConduct the study in summerUse a probability sampleUse data from Nielsen or ComScore to compare resultsGive participants option to take survey with paper and penIf we could conduct this survey again there are many things we would change. We would clarify for participants that we are referring to the main Fox network and not its affiliates. We believe this may have been confusing for participants and may have resulted in participants responding that they watched a show on Fox when it fact it was on a Fox affiliate. We would also ask all participants which network provided the show they had watched, not just those who watched on TV. We would also ask those who watched a show on another network to specify which network it was for research purposes. We would also conduct the study in summer when the fall season is over and new episodes of the shows were studying are not being aired. Since during the time we were conducting the study, Fox aired new episodes of Bobs Burgers and Family Guy before Adult Swim did we believe that this may have influenced participants choice of networks. We would use a probability sample as well so that our sample would be representative of the population we were studying. We would also give participants the option to take the survey on paper rather than online so that people who did not have internet access would not be left out. Finally, if we had more resources wed use the actual TV and online ratings from Nielsen or ComScore to compare our survey results to. Ideally wed wait until 2015 when Nielsen begins to make their online and cross-platform ratings available.

Suggestions for Future ResearchContinue to test hypothesis that students prefer Adult SwimTest for correlation between how one watches and what network they watch onSelect participants based on viewer preferencesCompare availability of different networks contentWe think with further exploring our hypothesis based on our results, we would have to make changes to our methodology and how we conduct the survey. For example, we will need less of a reference sample and more of actual viewers of Fox and Adult Swim.

If one were to conduct future research based off of our custom survey then we would suggest that they continue to explore if students prefer to watch on Adult Swim. Wed also suggest that future research select and sort participants based on their viewership habits. For instance select participants which only watch on TV and then see if there is a preference for certain networks or shows in that group. Or select participants which are heavy viewers of a certain show, for instance family guy, and then see if they prefer a to watch it on a certain network. For our project we did not address if there is a connection between on what device one watches a program and the network they prefer to watch it on. Additional research may uncover a connection here. Another angle additional research could take would be to compare availability of content between networks rather than viewership. This would entail researching which networks have content available online or on handheld devices, how much material is available, if one needs to pay to access it, and the ease of use for the app or website. If one wanted, after doing that research one could then see if any of those factors correlate with how people chose to consume content. Thank You!We hope youve enjoyed our presentation. We believe that our custom survey is a good starting point for a full study. In order to determine the demographic differences and consistencies between similar programming on separate networks more time and resources would be needed for the final research to be accomplished. AddendumFull Survey Questionnaire and ResultsSurvey IntroductionThis survey is being conducted by graduate students at The New School as part of the class Market Research for Media Managers. The purpose of this survey is to study the viewing habits of certain TV programs and networks. You have been selected for this survey because a friend or family member referred you. Your responses will be integral to the completion of our project. No identifying information will be collected as part of this survey and no personal information will be associated with your response.

You will now be asked some questions to see if you qualify for this survey.

Now well walk through our custom survey. It began with this brief introduction. All participants were required to respond to two qualifying questions.Are you currently enrolled in a college or university?YesNo

Which of the following devices do you own? Please select all that apply.TVComputerMobile PhoneTabletNone of theseQualifying QuestionsParticipants who were not currently a student or did not own one of the listed devices did not qualify to take the rest of the survey. Those participants were automatically skipped to the end of the survey. Network Questions You will now be asked about your viewing habits of certain television networks.Are you aware of Network X?YesNo

The following four questions were asked about the Fox Network, Adult Swim, FXX, and MTV. Questions about FXX and MTV were added so that participants wouldnt be aware that we wished to study Fox and Adult Swim. All participants were required to respond to questions regarding the awareness of the four networks. If the participant was aware of the a certain network then they were skipped past all questions about that network.

On which of the following devices can you access Network X programming? Please select all that apply.My tabletMy mobile phoneMy computerMy TVI dont know

In this past week, how many days in total did you watch Network X programming?01234567I dont knowNetwork QuestionsAgain, these two questions were asked about Fox, Adult Swim, FXX, and MTV. In the past week, on which of the following devices did you watch Network X programming? Please select all that apply.My tabletMy mobile phoneMy computerMy TVI dont knowNetwork Questions

This question was only displayed is a participant did watch a certain network in the past week.

Program QuestionsNow you will be asked a few questions about your viewing habits of certain television shows.In the past week how many full episodes of Program X did you watch?012345678910+I dont know

The following three questions were asked about Bobs Burgers, Family Guy, American Dad, and The Simpsons. Questions about American Dad and The Simpsons were added so that participants wouldnt be aware that we wished to compare shows which aired on both Fox and Adult Swim. All participants were required to respond to questions about their viewership of each program. If the participant did not watch any full episodes of a certain program then they were skipped past all other questions about that program.When you watched full episodes of Program X in this past week, on which device(s) did you watch it? Please choose all that apply.On my TVOn my computerOn my mobile phoneOn my tabletI dont knowProgram Questions

This question was only displayed when a participant did watch a certain program in the past week. Program QuestionsWhen you watched full episodes of Program X on TV in this past week, on which network(s) did you watch it? Please choose all that apply.On FoxOn Adult SwimOn FXXOn MTVOn another networkI dont know

This question was only displayed is a person watched a certain program of their Tv in the past week. We chose not to ask those who watched on computers or mobile devices which network the program was provided by as we believed it could be too confusing. We were afraid that, if for instance if they watched a Fox show on Hulu then participants would report the network they watched it on as Hulu rather than Fox. We had also originally hoped to compare our results with ratings reported by Nielsen and so it would have complicated the comparison to include online or mobile viewership.

Demographic QuestionsFinally, wed like to collect some demographic information from you.What is your age?

________ years oldWhich best describes your gender?

MaleFemaleThank you for completing our survey. Your participation is greatly appreciated.All participants were asked these two demographic questions.Custom Survey ResultsFor our results all percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number so they may not add up to 100. In addition, questions which ask participants to select all that apply may add up to over 100%. Although participants were given the option to respond I dont know to many of the questions, these answers have been excluded from our analysis.

1. Are you currently enrolled in a college or university?

AnswerResponse%Yes4767%No2333%2. Which of the following devices do you own? Please select all that apply.AnswerResponse%Television3474%Tablet1737%Computer46100%Mobile phone4598%None of these00%

AnswerResponse%Yes4598%No12%3. Are you aware of the Fox network?

4. On which of the following devices can you access Fox programming? Please select all that apply.AnswerResponse%My tablet924%My mobile phone1539%My computer2361%My TV3079%

5. In this past week, how many days in total did you watch Fox programming?AnswerResponse%I did not watch Fox 2660%149%2716%337%412%512%600%712%

6. In the past week, on which of the following devices did you watch Fox programming? Please select all that apply.AnswerResponse%My tablet00%My mobile phone16%My computer422%My TV1689%

7. Are you aware of Adult Swim?AnswerResponse%Yes3477%No1023%

8. On which of the following devices can you access Adult Swim programming? Please select all that apply. apply.AnswerResponse%My tablet1037%My mobile phone1348%My computer1763%My TV2385%

9. In this past week, how many days in total did you watch Adult Swim programming?AnswerResponse%I did not watch Adult Swim 2368%1412%239%313%426%500%600%700%

10. In the past week, on which of the following devices did you watch Adult Swim programming? Please select all that apply. select all that apply.AnswerResponse%My tablet00%My mobile phone218%My computer545%My TV764%

11. Are you aware of FXX?AnswerResponse%Yes2761%No1739%

12. On which of the following devices can you access FXX programming?Please select all that apply.AnswerResponse%My tablet314%My mobile phone418%My computer1150%My TV1777%

13. In this past week, how many days in total did you watch FXX programming?AnswerResponse%I did not watch FXX 2181%128%2312%300%400%500%600%700%

14. In the past week, on which of the following devices did you watch FXX programming? Please select all that apply.AnswerResponse%My tablet00%My mobile phone120%My computer120%My TV5100%

15. Are you aware of MTV?AnswerResponse%Yes4198%No12%

16. On which of the following devices can you access MTVprogramming? Please select all that apply.AnswerResponse%My tablet618%My mobile phone1235%My computer2471%My TV2779%

17. In this past week, how many days in total did you watch MTV programming?AnswerResponse%I did not watch MTV 2870%1513%2410%338%400%500%600%700%

18. In the past week, on which of the following devices did you watch MTV programming? Please select all that apply. AnswerResponse%My tablet18%My mobile phone18%My computer217%My TV1192%

19. In the past week how many full episodes of Bobs Burgers did you watch?AnswerResponse%I did not watch Bob's Burgers 3690%100%225%325%400%500%600%700%800%900%10 or more00%

20. When you watched full episodes of Bobs Burgers in this past week, on which device(s) did you watch it? Please select all that apply.ch it? Please select all that apply.AnswerResponse%My tablet125%My mobile phone00%My computer375%My TV125%

21. When you watched full episodes of Bobs Burgers on TV in this past week,on which network(s) did you watch it? Please select all that apply.leaseAnswerResponse%On Fox1100%On Adult Swim00%On FXX00%On MTV00%On another network00%

22. In the past week how many full episodes of Family Guy did you watch?AnswerResponse%I did not watch Family Guy 3179%125%238%338%400%500%600%700%800%900%10 or more00%

23. When you watched full episodes of Family Guy in this past week, on which device(s) did you watch it? Please select all that apply.? AnswerResponse%My tablet00%My mobile phone114%My Computer114%My TV7100%

24. When you watched full episodes of Family Guy on TV in this past week, on which network(s) did you watch it? Please select all that apply. watch it? Please choose all that apply.AnswerResponse%On Fox114%On Adult Swim571%On FXX00%On MTV00%On another network229%

25. In the past week how many full episodes of The Simpsons did you watch it?AnswerResponse%I did not watch The Simpsons 3389%138%200%313%400%500%600%700%800%900%10 or more00%

26. When you watched full episodes of The Simpsons in this past week, on which device(s) did you watch? Please select all that apply.ch it? Please select all that apply.AnswerResponse%My tablet00%My mobile phone00%My computer125%My TV375%

27. When you watched full episodes of The Simpsons on TV in this past week,on which network(s) did you watch it? Please select all that apply.AnswerResponse%On Fox3100%On Adult Swim00%On FXX00%On MTV00%On another network00%

28. In the past week how many full episodes of American Dad did you watch?AnswerResponse%I did not watch American Dad 3389%113%225%300%400%500%600%700%800%900%10 or more00%

29. When you watched full episodes of American Dad in this past week, on which device(s) did you watch? Please select all that apply.h it? Please select all that apply.AnswerResponse%My tablet00%My mobile phone00%My computer125%My TV375%

30. When you watched full episodes of American Dad on TV in this past week, on which network(s) did you watch it? Please select all that apply. you watch? Please select all that apply.AnswerResponse%On Fox00%On Adult Swim267%On FXX00%On MTV00%On another network133%

31. What is your age?AnswerResponse%1800%1913%201027%21719%2213%2325%2413%2513%2638%2725%28411%2913%3000%3113%3200%3300%3400%3513%5413%6113%AnswerResponse%31. What is your age?

32. Which best describes your gender?AnswerResponse%Male719%Female3081%