As has been widely documented over the past year of living in a pandemic, consumers' media habits have largely morphed amid our homebound, screen-dependent lifestyles. Yet as many are quick to highlight the exploding streaming video market, Nielsen is uniquely positioned to highlight the constant importance of local news, as well as how that genre is attracting a wave of new viewers-Gen Z.
That was one of the key messages Nielsen leadership shared at the recent NATPE Miami virtual 2021 conference, appropriately themed A New Day for TV Stations.
It's no surprise that April, which coincided with the start of the pandemic, was the highest total TV and news viewing month of the year, which it typically is not, said Justin LaPorte, VP of Local Audience Insights, during his presentation. News still represents a much higher percentage of people's viewing day, and in November 2020, it was 10 percentage points higher in share of viewing than a year ago.
When looking at 18-24 year olds (Gen Z), he continued, viewing rose the most on January 6th (during the Capitol riots), with a 142% increase for cable viewing and almost 50% for broadcast. This group represents a new demo for news, and while it still has a smaller part of the share for total news viewing, it's a group that is watching more news on TV over the past year than we've seen previously.
Media consumption has changed dramatically over the past year, with local TV gaining prominence during a heated political season, cries for racial justice and the ongoing pandemic, as Catherine Herkovic, EVP and Managing Director, Nielsen Local TV, discussed during a panel focused on transforming learnings from the past year into strategies for engaging viewers in 2021.
Given the unusual times that we are living in, I find it logical that viewers want information that will help them to navigate day-to-day uncertainty, and they are turning to local news, which is a shining bright spot for TV, said Catherine. In fact, people watched over two billion more minutes of news in November 2020 than they did a year ago, and with over 43% of total viewing allocated to news, local news is by far the strongest genre within that.
Importantly, however, local stations can't focus on age groups alone when it comes to growth opportunities. They need to be focused on content choices and ensuring that they are including diverse audiences in their programming options.
Diversity, equity and inclusion aren't just a nice to have anymore; they're an imperative, said Court Stroud, panel moderator and Founder of the Cledor Group.
Nicolas Valls, General Manager, WGEN Estrella 8 Miami elaborated: Pandemic conditions are shifting the way we approach content and news in particular, to be more reassuring and educational, rather than just running the headlines that are going to increase ratings, and that's been driven by consumer and viewer preference. They're telling us what they want, and we're pivoting to their changing choices.
While general news viewing has gone up, Meredith McGinn, SVP of COZI TV, NBCLX, and LX.TV, affirmed that the younger generation is increasing their engagement with local TV.
The younger segment wants depth and context, noted Meredith. We know from the research we conducted that younger viewers consume news. We've seen double lift increases in that audience for our new network.
While the influence of the pandemic and the events of 2020 have brought significant positive changes to local TV viewership and younger audience engagement, how did COVID-19 play into the impact on streaming and storytelling in the future?
Nielsen's Sean Cohan, Chief Growth Officer & President, International, participated in a panel moderated by Jeff Cole, Director of the Center for the Digital Future, to discuss these topics.
We think about local TV as an ecosystem which includes audio and digital. What's interesting is that when you unpack advertising spend, growth is coming from small and medium size businesses which tend to gravitate to these local forms of reach, said Sean. I see growth in marketer interest and spend continuing. I think that there's a fuel for the fire if local can continue to attract more users and viewers, which is an underlying fundamental that is very healthy.
News had an extraordinary year in 2020, as did drama, niche drama and big events through streaming.
Acceleration, increased demand for streaming content and an insatiable viewership appetite with traditional TV and streaming, as well as new streaming and platform adoption, were undoubtedly popular trends last year. There was a dramatic acceleration that we thought may happen over several years that happened over several months due to the pandemic.
He continued, We've been focused on keeping our people safe and coming up with innovation around remote installs, management of panels, and working towards a single cross-media solution, Nielsen ONE. For us, audience is everything, and the common thread among all of our clients is the need for reliable unbiased data to make strategic decisions.
The social unrest of 2020 also called attention to the need for fairly representing viewership and helping the industry to be more representative, by putting diverse talent in front of and behind the camera.
2020 was about innovation, adaptation and not wasting a crisis, and the importance of information and leadership to help navigate chaos and change, Sean said.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...
15/05/2026
Daniel Roher attends the Tuner Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Theatre on January 22, 2026 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Neilson Bar...
As has been widely documented over the past year of living in a pandemic, consumers' media habits have largely morphed amid our homebound, screen-dependent lifestyles. Yet as many are quick to highlight the exploding streaming video market, Nielsen is uniquely positioned to highlight the constant importance of local news, as well as how that genre is attracting a wave of new viewers-Gen Z.
