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Primetime Profi leSeptember 21, 2015 - September 18, 2016With Comparisons to the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 Seasons

Audience Insight 2016Annual Report

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I: PRIMETIME SEASON OVERVIEW

PART II: PRIMETIME SERIES BY GENRE

PART III: DAYTIME/ KIDS SEASON OVERVIEW

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1 ABOUT THIS BOOK

2 GLOSSARY

4 PRIMETIME RATINGS TREND BY WEEK; PRIMETIME HH RATINGS & STREAMS BY WEEK

5 PRIMETIME RATINGS TREND BY NIGHT; PRIMETIME AUDIENCE COMPOSITION

6 PRIMETIME HH RATINGS FOR TOP 30 NETWORKS

7 PBS VIEWER INDEX: BROADCAST AND CABLE

10 PRIMETIME SERIES RANKER: TV

11 PRIMETIME SERIES RANKERS: DIGITAL

12 PRIMETIME DELIVERY P2+ BY GENRE

13 THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW

14 AMERICAN MASTERS

15 PBS ARTS FESTIVAL

16 LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER/GREAT PERFORMANCES

17 ARTS ONE-OFFS & LIMITED SERIES

19 CALL THE MIDWIFE/MERCY STREET

20 MASTERPIECE: ANTHOLOGY

21 MASTERPIECE: SERIES RANKER

22 DRAMA ONE-OFFS & LIMITED SERIES

23 NATURE

24 NOVA

25 SCIENCE ONE-OFFS & LIMITED SERIES

27 AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

28 ANTIQUES ROADSHOW

29 FINDING YOUR ROOTS/GENEALOGY ROADSHOW

30 SECRETS OF THE DEAD/PERSONAL HISTORY ONE-OFFS & LIMITED SERIES

31 INDEPENDENT LENS

32 POV

33 FRONTLINE

34 PBS NEWSHOUR/PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND

35 CHARLIE ROSE THE WEEK/WASHINGTON WEEK

36 PUBLIC AFFAIRS ONE-OFFS/ELECTION COVERAGE

37 PROGRAM AUDIENCE AFFINITIES

38 POP OUTS

40 PRIMETIME AUDIENCE COMPOSITION BY SERIES

42 INDICES OF CONTRIBUTOR STATUS & CONSUMER BEHAVIORS

46 KIDS AUDIENCE COMPOSITION; KIDS SHARE OF VIEWING

47 KIDS STREAMING BY PROGRAM, BY PLATFORM

48 KIDS AUDIENCE COMPOSITION BY PROGRAM

50 U.S. POPULATION TRENDS; PRIMETIME TUNING INTO INTERNET DEVICES

51 TECHNOLOGY TRENDS; DAILY TIME SPENT USING MEDIA

MEDIA L ANDSCAPE

1

A MESSAGEFROM THE PBS BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE GROUP

Th e new PBS Business Intelligence Group is pleased to present the fi fth annual edition of the Audience

Insight report. Formed in July 2016, this group combines the previous Research, Digital Analytics

and Marketing Insights functions into a unifi ed team focused on providing audience insights across

platforms, tied directly to strategic and operational decision-making. While still providing many of the

same core services, the new group also aims to:

• Expand our ability to tackle larger strategic questions while supporting on-going reporting and

analyses for internal and external stakeholders.

• Broaden reporting & analysis to be more inclusive of cross-platform audience behavior and

develop a more holistic story around what that looks like for PBS.

• Continuously evaluate success metrics for PBS, its member stations and producers; expanding

upon reach, ratings and streams with new metrics to defi ne and understand PBS’s impact.

• Serve as thought leaders and industry experts to promote a culture of curiosity and data-driven decision making.

Below are the names and roles of our team members–many of whom contributed hours of hard work to

the publication of this book. Th ey look forward to working with you.

Karen BaileVP Strategy and Operations

Raj Bhansali - Senior Director, Program Analytics & Insights

Bill Merkel - Director, Program Analytics & Insights (GA)

Andrea Schutzman - Director, Program Analytics & Insights (KIDS)

Tim Bawcombe - Director (Nielsen Operations)

Sarah Terrill - Director, Program Analytics & Insights (GA)

Alena Malloy - Sponsorship & Production Support (GA)

Forest Lillibridge - Sr Associate, Program Analytics & Insights

Jeron Rhodes - Sr Associate, Program Analytics & Insights

Kate Alany - Director, Digital Analytics & Insights

Dan Haggerty - Director, Digital Analytics & Insights (Products, GA Operations)

Joe Miscavige - Director, Digital Analytics & Insights (KIDS)

Melissa Hill - Director, Digital Analytics & Insights (GA)

Amy Sample - Senior Director, Strategic Analytics & Insights

Susan Frazier - Director, Market Research

Eliza Jacobs - Associate Director, Market Research

Igor Meyerson - Associate Director, Strategic Analytics & Insights

Gale Malloy - Research Coordinator

PROGRAM ANALYTICS & INSIGHTS

DIGITAL ANALYTICS & INSIGHTS

STRATEGIC ANALYTICS & INSIGHTS

332

PART IPRIMETIME SEASON OVERVIEW

PBS’s Primetime audience ratings were relatively consistent year-over-year. While household levels dipped a minor 2%, the majority of top television networks experienced larger declines. Th e exceptions were NBC, which

benefi tted from the 2016 Summer Olympics, and the cable news networks which received boosts from presidential election coverage. PBS’s rank dropped to sixth, trailing the four major broadcasters and now Fox News, whose ratings increased by 20% to barely overtake PBS.

PBS experienced a 15% growth in digital streams. Streams trended very similarly

to the television audience each week-- with corresponding peaks and valleys

across the season--albeit with a slight lag.

Sundays continued to be the highest-rated night of the week this year, bolstered

by the fi nal, record-breaking season of Downton Abbey and the fi rst season

of the PBS-commissioned historical drama, Mercy Street. Mondays were the

second most-viewed night, but experienced slight declines. Friday nights had

the greatest gains fueled by several strong performances of musically-themed

American Masters episodes and Th e Great British Baking Show.

Th e composition of the PBS audience continues to skew older, more female and

more highly educated than the average Primetime viewer. Overall, PBS mirrors

the general Primetime TV viewer for affl uence. However those who contribute

to PBS tend to be even older, have higher incomes and have had more education.

Black households comprised a larger percentage of PBS’s Primetime viewing in

2015-2016, growing from 8% to 9% of audience.

With 20% of PBS’s Primetime viewing coming from homes with reception

to networks available only over-the-air, PBS viewers are more likely to view

programs on the four major broadcast networks. On cable, procedural dramas

continue to have the best performance among PBS Viewers.

GLOSSARY

SOURCES

MRI DEFINITIONS

Rating or AA (Average Audience) -- Percent of all TV households (or persons) watching during an average minute of a program or time period.

• Each 1.0 household rating point translates into 1,164,000 households watching in an average minute.

• Th e primetime rating includes tuning to all PBS stations, including multi-cast, during an average minute from Monday - Sunday,

8PM-11PM, plus all DVR playback within seven days.

Cume - Th e unduplicated viewers aged P2+ of a program or series.

Percentage of Primetime Cume - Of everyone aged 2+ that PBS reached in Primetime, this represents the percentage of that audience reached by

the program.

Stream – Any time a video starts playing. If the video includes a pre-roll, a stream is counted only after the pre-roll fi nishes.

Episode Streams – Episode streams are for original broadcasts only and include views for a four-week period after the broadcast TV air date.

Live+7 – Includes all playback on a DVR within 7 days of the program feed or original time period.

Non-Recent Viewers – Viewers 18+ of a program who had not watched any PBS station in the prior (non-Pledge) month.

Heavy Viewers – Viewers 18+ are divided into fi ve equal groups according to their time spent viewing PBS. Th e top 20%, who watch the most PBS,

are called Heavy Viewers.

Pop-Out – A Pop Out is a major focus for the PBS system with strong potential to draw in large audiences.

Contributor - An adult 18+ who self-reported through the MRI survey as having “made a contribution to PBS during the past 12 months.”

Arts - Th ose who attend classical music or opera performances.

Civic Engagement - A segment classifi ed by MRI through pyschographic statements as “Civic Advocates.” Members of this segment are likely to have

written something that was published, written an article for a magazine or newspaper, contacted media or similar behaviors.

Tech Enthusiasts - A segment which includes enthusiastic adopters and regular users of technology. In comparison to Tech-phobes, Tech-Splorers

and Tech-Gamers.

Financial Investments - Th ose who have any type of fi nancial investments totalling over $250,000.

Foreign Travel - Th ose who participate in any kind of foreign travel, whether for business or vacation.

Th e Nielsen Company

• All Nielsen data come from Nielsen’s national PeopleMeter sample for Live+7. Broadcast season dates: 9/21/2015 - 9/18/2016,

9/22/2014 - 9/20/2015, and 9/23/2013 - 9/21/2014.

• For cume data, a 50% unifi cation was used with a 6 minute qualifi er for persons aged 2+.

• For PBS Kids analysis (pages 44-49), television time period data are based on 7AM to 6PM, Monday-Friday viewing.

• For population and technology trends (pages 50-51), data are taken from the Nielsen Company “Universe Estimate Report”

(March 2016).

• For Primetime tuning to OTT devices (page 50), data are from the Nielsen Company NPower Live +7 M-Su 8PM-11PM, viewing

source = Internet Connected Devices.

• For Daily Time Spent Using Media (page 51), data are from the Nielsen Total Activity Report/Q1 2016.

Nielsen/MRI Fusion (pages 42-43) – Data rely on the fused datasets from Nielsen’s National People Meter Sample (PBS Heavy Viewers) and MRI’s

persons 18+ sample of respondents. Nielsen broadcast season plus MRI waves for October ‘15 - March ‘16 and April ‘15 - September ‘16.

Google Analytics – All streaming information from browser, mobile and OTT platforms for programs that aired during the Nielsen broadcast season.

554

Sundays remain the highest-rated, Friday night is growing

PBS PRIMETIME HH RATINGS TREND BY NIGHTWeekly ratings trend similarly for past 3 years

PBS PRIMETIME HH RATINGS TREND BY WEEK

PBS PRIMETIME AUDIENCE COMPOSITIONPBS Viewers and PBS Contributors skew female, older, and more-educated

2015-16 PRIMETIME HH RATINGS & STREAMS BY WEEKStreams trend like Broadcast, with a slight lag

Note: “Education” refers to the head of household and “income” refers to total household income.

KEY

PLEDGEPERIOD

2015-20162014-20152013-2014

KEY

2015-2016

Ratings

2015-2016

Streams

2013-2014 2015-20162014-2015

KEY

PR

IMET

IME

TV

V

IEW

ERS

PB

S P

RIM

E-TI

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CO

NTR

IBU

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AA% ratings Streams

776 7

DASHBOARD PLUS OTA AND DVR

ARE WE KEEPING THIS???

PRIMETIME HH RATINGS FOR TOP 30 NETWORKSPBS now ranked #6, political coverage helped push Fox News ahead

HORIZONTAL BAR, ALL NETS OVER .10, DESCENDING ORDER

PBS VIEWER INDEX: WHAT PBS VIEWERS WATCH

HOW TO READTh e PBS Viewer Index is a calculation of the rating among PBS-viewing house-holds for the top 30 broadcast and cable programs with at least fi ve Primetime telecasts (with the obvious exception of one-off events like the Super Bowl and Oscars) relative to the rating among total U.S. TV households. An index above 100 means that PBS viewers are more likely to watch the program than the average TV household. Th e color-coding refl ects the PBS Viewer Index, where dark green means PBS viewers are more likely to view and dark pink means they are less likely to view than the average U.S. TV household. Th e size of the bubbles in these charts re-fl ects the size of the audience.

TOP 30 BROADCAST SERIES

DASHBOARD PLUS OTA AND DVR

ARE WE KEEPING THIS???

HORIZONTAL BAR, ALL NETS OVER .10, DESCENDING ORDER

TOP 30 CABLE SERIES

AVG. PBS INDEX TO HH

90.00 100.00 115.00

HOW TO USETh e “PBS Viewer Index” reveals whether PBS viewers are more or less likely to watch a program than the average TV viewer. Th e index also helps us identify areas of interest to our viewers, which can help with seeding program develop-ment and acquisition ideas.

Because PBS viewers are more likely to reside in broadcast-only homes, the broadcast chart contains more titles that over-index for PBS viewers (green). In fact almost all of the top-rated broad-cast programs have high PBS viewer indices, with the exception of Empire. Th e highest-indexing programs for PBS viewers are on CBS, with ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, Castle and Modern Family being the rare exceptions to this affi nity for CBS.

PBS PRIMETIME RANK

TREND

2014-15 TO 2015-16 CHANGE

-25% +11%

HOW TO READPBS’s household rank among the top 30 networks dropped by one position, from #5 in 2014-2015 to #6 for this past season. However, it has remained consistent at #5 for viewers age 50-64.

998

PART IIPRIMETIME SERIES BY GENRE

PBS provides high-quality content that is relevant, educational, distinctive and

diverse, reaching large audiences. Overall, PBS reaches large audiences with

viewership to Arts, Public Aff airs and Independent Film programming, experience

growth year-over-year. Drama and Personal History — which includes Finding Your

Roots — both lost audience this season. Despite that, both genres continue to bring the

most viewers to PBS.

Drama programming has the most successful individual strands. Masterpiece reached

over 42 million Americans on television and was the highest-rated and most-streamed

series of the year. Th is past year had us saying “fare thee well” to Downton Abbey after

its sixth and fi nal season, and welcoming Mercy Street into the PBS Drama fold. Mercy

Street posted strong television and streaming fi gures for its inaugural run.

Americans also turned to PBS for election coverage. PBS NewsHour’s extensive coverage

of the Democratic National Convention reached over 15 million viewers as did its cover-

age for the Republican National Convention. Over a third of DNC and RNC viewers were

new to PBS. PBS NewsHour also was the second-most streamed show of the season on

PBS digital platforms.

Shows with promotional support brought in new or “non-recent” viewers. A third of

Downtown Abbey’s season premiere audience were non-recent viewers of primetime PBS

programming. Jackie Robinson and Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution not only

had 29% of their audience being non-recent to PBS, but they also drove strong ratings

among Black households.

Among PBS’s on-going series, Th e Great British Baking Show, Frontline and Independent

Lens had the youngest audiences. Call the Midwife’s audience was the most affl uent, and

PBS NewsHour viewers were the most highly-educated.

Heavy viewers of on-going PBS series have been shown to be more likely to contribute

to their local PBS stations. Viewers of POV and Washington Week lead the way in terms

of the proportion of viewers who give to PBS. In general, PBS heavy viewers are largely

interested in the Arts, and heavy viewers of Call the Midwife index the highest in this

regard. Heavy viewers are also well-off fi nancially with POV and American Experience

having the largest percentage of their audiences with fi nancial investments over $250K.

1110

PBS PRIMETIME* SERIES RANKERS: DIGITALPBS PRIMETIME* SERIES RANKER: TVMasterpiece continues to be the most-watched broadcast series

* PRIMETIME SERIES WITH AT LEAST SIX EPISODES THIS SEASON, PLUS PBS NEWSHOUR. AVERAGES INCLUDE ALL ORIGINAL BROADCASTS. SE-

RIES THAT ARE EXPECTED TO AIR ONLY IN 2015-2016 ARE EXCLUDED. MISSING BARS INDICATE THAT THE SERIES WAS NOT IN THE SCHEDULE

THAT SEASON.

Total streams per program, 3 year trend (000)

*STREAMING REFLECTS ACTIVITY ON ALL DIGITAL PLATFORMS (BROWSER, MOBILE, AND OTT). STREAMING WINDOWS VARY; FOR MOST

NEWS CONTENT, STREAMING AVAILABILITY IS UNLIMITED. FOR DRAMA, THE STREAMING WINDOW IS TWO WEEKS. FOR ALL OTHER

GENRES, A FOUR WEEK WINDOW GENERALLY APPLIES.

2013-2014 2015-20162014-2015

KEY

2013-2014 2015-20162014-2015

KEY

Worth Noting

• Many of PBS’s top performing returning series lost

ground, season-over-season.

• Notable exceptions include the third season of Find-

ing Your Roots, and better performances by long-

standing news programs such as PBS NewsHour and

Washington Week.

• Primetime signature series like Nature and NOVA

continued to post strong ratings, as both featured

some of their best performing one-off s and mini-

series in recent seasons.

Average streams per episode, 2015-2016 (000)

HOW TO READTh e total streams per program ranker (to the left) shows the total number of times full episodes or clips from each of the series were streamed for each of the last three seasons. Th e average streams per episode ranker (below) takes into account that some series comprise more episodes than others, dividing the total number of streams for each series during the 2015-2016 seasons by the number of episodes.

On a per episode basis, dramas like Masterpiece and Call the Midwife rise to the top of the list, with history titles like American Experience and Finding Your Roots close be-hind. On a total streams trend basis, the PBS NewsHour and Frontline are among the top ranked with both at their highest levels of online viewership. Overall, PBS digital streams grew by 15%, eclipsing 150 millions views.

1312

TOP-RATED 2015-16 ORIGINAL BROADCAST EPISODES

VERTICAL BAR

AA BY HH AND DEMOS

THREE SEASONS

+CONTRUBUTOR INDEX BADGE

SCIEN

CE/N

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DR

AM

AP

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NA

L HISTO

RY

IND

IE FILMP

UB

LIC A

FFAIR

SA

RTS

Cume (000)

10,876

Percent of Primetime

Cume

7.5%

Worth Noting

• While Th e Great British Baking Show’s third season may

have appeared to under-perform its second, that was hard-

ly the whole story. Moving Th e Great British Baking Show

from Sundays at 7PM to Fridays in Primetime helped

drive Friday night’s ratings growth.

• Th e program attracted PBS’s youngest audience in Prime-

time (median age 60) and was one of the most-streamed

series, week-after-week.

PBS PRIMETIME* DELIVERY P2+ (000) BY GENREPersonal History and Drama have the largest audience. Arts, News, and Indie Film saw the largest growth

*NEWS/PUBLIC AFFAIRS AVERAGE INCLUDES PBS NEWSHOUR.

THREE YEAR TRENDHH AND DEMO RATINGS*

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

AVERAGE STREAMS PER EPISODEGREAT BRITISH BAKING VS. ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS

TOTAL NUMBER OF EPISODES: 17

*Ratings not available for 2013-14

2013-2014 2015-20162014-2015

KEY

1514

THREE YEAR TRENDHH AND DEMO RATINGS

VERTICAL BAR

AA BY HH AND DEMOS

THREE SEASONS


SCIE

NC

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NA

L H

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IND

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TSSC

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VERTICAL BAR

AA BY HH AND DEMOS

THREE SEASONS

Worth Noting

• Th e premiere telecast of Andrea Bocelli’s symphonic

salute to the movies (“Cinema”) was the highest

rated PBS Arts program in over four years.

• Th e arts audience has a slightly higher concentration

of college-educated viewers and noticeably larger

representation of higher-income homes.


Worth Noting

• American Masters had its best season in three years,

and this was due to strong performances across its

eight, widely-diverse telecasts.

• Six of its premiere episodes posted a household rat-

ing above a 1.0, compared to just two episodes last

season. Persons 2+ reach increased by 18% despite

having one fewer original broadcast telecast.

Cume (000)

6,190


Cume

4.3%

Cume (000)

13,843


Cume

9.6%

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016


KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

AVERAGE STREAMS PER EPISODEPBS ARTS FESTIVAL VS. ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS

AVERAGE STREAMS PER EPISODEAMERICAN MASTERS VS. ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS

1716




SCIE

NC

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AM

AP

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NA

L H

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RY

IND

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ILM

PU

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FFA

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AR

TSSC

IENC

E/NA

TUR

ED

RA

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PER

SON

AL H

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DIE FILM

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AFFA

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Cume (000)

6,897


Cume

4.8%


Cume (000)

7,111


Cume

4.9%

TOP-RATED 2015-16 ORIGINAL BROADCAST: ANNUAL EVENTS

TOP-RATED 2015-16 ORIGINAL BROADCAST: MULTI-PART SERIES & EVENTS

TOP-RATED 2015-16 ORIGINAL BROADCAST: ONE-OFF EVENTS

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

ONE-OFFS & LIMITED SERIES

1918

NEW

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BLIC

AFFA

IRS

IND

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IENC

E & N

ATU

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TSD

RA

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HISTO

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/IDEN

TITY



Cume (000)

10,718


Cume

7.4%

Cume (000)

13,232


Cume

9.2%

Worth Noting

• Call the Midwife closed its most recent season down 5% in

household ratings, but the program has delivered steady,

above-primetime-average ratings, year-over-year in its Sun-

day 8 pm time slot.

• Th e program returns for a sixth season in spring 2017.

Worth Noting

• Among recent fi rst-season PBS dramas, Mercy Street ratings

ranked near the top and reached over 13 million total viewers

during its six-week run.

• Mercy Street averaged 4.9 million viewers per episode.

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

AVERAGE STREAMS PER EPISODECALL THE MIDWIFE VS. ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS

AVERAGE STREAMS PER EPISODEMERCY STREET VS. ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS

*Ratings only available for 2015-16

SCIEN

CE/N

ATU

RE

DR

AM

AP

ERSO

NA

L HISTO

RY

IND

IE FILMP

UB

LIC A

FFAIR

SA

RTS

2120

NEW

S/PU

BLIC

AFFA

IRS

IND

IE FILMSC

IENC

E & N

ATU

RE

AR

TSD

RA

MA

HISTO

RY

/IDEN

TITY

Worth Noting

• Downton Abbey’s sixth and fi nal season

was its best, averaging an 8.96 household

rating over nine episodes and reaching a

record 26.4 million viewers.

• Downton Abbey, season six, also became

PBS’s top-rated series of all time, displac-

ing Ken Burns’ Th e Civil War from 1990

(8.70 HH).

THREE YEAR TREND: ANTHOLOGYHH AND DEMO RATINGS

Cume (000)

42,218


Cume

29.2%

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

2015-2016: SERIES RANKERHH AND DEMO RATINGS

6.07

5.47

5.08

IMPACT OF REPEAT TO DOWNTON ABBEYHH AND DEMO RATINGS

AVERAGE STREAMS PER EPISODEMASTERPIECE VS. ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS

SCIEN

CE/N

ATU

RE

DR

AM

AP

ERSO

NA

L HISTO

RY

IND

IE FILMP

UB

LIC A

FFAIR

SA

RTS

SCIE

NC

E/N

ATU

RE

DR

AM

AP

ERSO

NA

L H

ISTO

RY

IND

IE F

ILM

PU

BLI

C A

FFA

IRS

AR

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2322

Worth Noting

• Nature was the highest-rated Wednesday night natural

history series in 2015-2016.

• Nature’s three-part “Natural Born Hustlers” was the

highest-rated multi-episode PBS nature doc of the past

three seasons and ranked #1 among key adult demos,

kids 2-11, and in Black households, averaging 300K per

telecast.



NEW

S/PU

BLIC

AFFA

IRS

IND

IE FILMSC

IENC

E & N

ATU

RE

AR

TSD

RA

MA

HISTO

RY

/IDEN

TITY

Cume (000)

36,640


Cume

25.4%

TOP-RATED 2015-16 ORIGINAL BROADCAST: ANNUAL EVENTS



KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

AVERAGE STREAMS PER EPISODENATURE VS. ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS



SCIEN

CE/N

ATU

RE

DR

AM

AP

ERSO

NA

L HISTO

RY

IND

IE FILMP

UB

LIC A

FFAIR

SA

RTS

SCIE

NC

E/N

ATU

RE

DR

AM

AP

ERSO

NA

L H

ISTO

RY

IND

IE F

ILM

PU

BLI

C A

FFA

IRS

AR

TS

2524 25


VERTICAL BAR

AA BY HH AND DEMOS

THREE SEASONS



Cume (000)

40,286


Cume

27.9%



KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

AVERAGE STREAMS PER EPISODENOVA VS. ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS



*Note: Does not include streams of NOVA scienceNow and Nova Labs.

Worth Noting

• Th e three-part NOVA miniseries “Making North America”

put up strong numbers each week and averaged a 2.38

household rating, 25% above the season-long norm.

• NOVA was streamed over 7.5 million times during the

season*.

SCIEN

CE/N

ATU

RE

DR

AM

AP

ERSO

NA

L HISTO

RY

IND

IE FILMP

UB

LIC A

FFAIR

SA

RTS

SCIE

NC

E/N

ATU

RE

DR

AM

AP

ERSO

NA

L H

ISTO

RY

IND

IE F

ILM

PU

BLI

C A

FFA

IRS

AR

TS

2726

Worth Noting

• American Experience’s eight new programs played a

key role in helping Tuesday nights sustain ratings,

with just one premiere telecast falling below the PBS

Primetime average.

• 120-minute episodes like “Th e Pilgrims” and “Mur-

der of a President” were standouts from a multi-

platform perspective, each reaching nearly 4 million

viewers 2+ on broadcast and topping the list for

online streams.

NEW

S/PU

BLIC

AFFA

IRS

IND

IE FILMSC

IENC

E & N

ATU

RE

AR

TSD

RA

MA

HISTO

RY

/IDEN

TITY



Cume (000)

24,999


Cume

17.3%

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

AVERAGE STREAMS PER EPISODEAMERICAN EXPERIENCE VS. ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS

SCIEN

CE/N

ATU

RE

DR

AM

AP

ERSO

NA

L HISTO

RY

IND

IE FILMP

UB

LIC A

FFAIR

SA

RTS

2928

NEW

S/P

UB

LIC

AFF

AIR

SIN

DIE

FIL

MSC

IEN

CE

& N

ATU

RE

AR

TSD

RA

MA

HIS

TOR

Y/I

DEN

TIT

YN

EWS/P

UB

LIC A

FFAIR

SIN

DIE FILM

SCIEN

CE &

NA

TUR

EA

RTS

DR

AM

AH

ISTOR

Y/ID

ENTIT

Y


VERTICAL BAR

AA BY HH AND DEMOS

THREE SEASONS



Worth Noting

• Antiques Roadshow began the season airing origi-

nals at 9 pm, which yielded lower ratings.

• After returning to 8 pm in January, the rest of

the season was nearly on par with 2014-15, aver-

aging 2.93 HH.




Cume (000)

51,035


Cume

35.4%

Cume (000)

16,699


Cume

11.6%

Cume (000)

9,210


Cume

6.4%


KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

AVERAGE STREAMS PER EPISODEANTIQUES ROADSHOW VS. ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS


*Ratings not available for 2013-14

SCIEN

CE/N

ATU

RE

DR

AM

AP

ERSO

NA

L HISTO

RY

IND

IE FILMP

UB

LIC A

FFAIR

SA

RTS

SCIE

NC

E/N

ATU

RE

DR

AM

AP

ERSO

NA

L H

ISTO

RY

IND

IE F

ILM

PU

BLI

C A

FFA

IRS

AR

TS

3130

NEW

S/P

UB

LIC

AFF

AIR

SIN

DIE

FIL

MSC

IEN

CE

& N

ATU

RE

AR

TSD

RA

MA

HIS

TOR

Y/I

DEN

TIT

Y



NEW

S/PU

BLIC

AFFA

IRS

IND

IE FILMSC

IENC

E & N

ATU

RE

AR

TSD

RA

MA

HISTO

RY

/IDEN

TITY



Cume (000)

16,609


Cume

5.6%

Cume (000)

12,716


Cume

8.8%


TOP-RATED 2015-16 ORIGINAL BROADCAST: MULTI-PART SERIES AND EVENTS

TOP-RATED 2015-16 ORIGINAL BROADCAST: ONE-OFF EVENTS Worth Noting

• 21 new fi lms appeared under the Independent Lens

umbrella in 2015-16, up from 17 in the prior year,

with slight growth in household ratings.

• Ratings in Black households increased 55%, driven

by “Th e Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution”.

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

AVERAGE STREAMS PER EPISODEINDEPENDENT LENS VS. ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS


SCIEN

CE/N

ATU

RE

DR

AM

AP

ERSO

NA

L HISTO

RY

IND

IE FILMP

UB

LIC A

FFAIR

SA

RTS

SCIE

NC

E/N

ATU

RE

DR

AM

AP

ERSO

NA

L H

ISTO

RY

IND

IE F

ILM

PU

BLI

C A

FFA

IRS

AR

TS

3332

NEW

S/PU

BLIC

AFFA

IRS

IND

IE FILMEX

PLO

RE

AR

TSD

RA

MA

HISTO

RY

/IDEN

TITY

NEW

S/P

UB

LIC

AFF

AIR

SIN

DIE

FIL

MEX

PLO

RE

AR

TSD

RA

MA

HIS

TOR

Y/I

DEN

TIT

YTHREE YEAR TRENDHH AND DEMO RATINGS

VERTICAL BAR

AA BY HH AND DEMOS

THREE SEASONS



Worth Noting

• PBS’s commitment to independent fi lm remained

strong in 2015-16, with 10 new fi lms and nearly 15

hours of content airing under the POV nameplate.

• Together, the two indie fi lm strands reached 19 mil-

lion persons 2+ (6.5% of the US) and nearly three

million (18%) Black households.



Cume (000)

5,848


Cume

2.0%

Cume (000)

21,872


Cume

15.2%

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

AVERAGE STREAMS PER EPISODEPOV VS. ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS

AVERAGE STREAMS PER EPISODEFRONTLINE VS. ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS

Worth Noting

• While ratings fell 12% from the previous season, Front-

line’s streams increased by 27% to over 12 million.

• “Supplements and Safety” and “Netanyahu at War”

ranked highest, each delivering more than 1.8 million

average viewers. “Saudi Arabia Uncovered” and “Chasing

Heroin” earned the largest online traffi c, well ahead of

the series’ 180K streams per-episode average this season.


SCIEN

CE/N

ATU

RE

DR

AM

AP

ERSO

NA

L HISTO

RY

IND

IE FILMP

UB

LIC A

FFAIR

SA

RTS

SCIE

NC

E/N

ATU

RE

DR

AM

AP

ERSO

NA

L H

ISTO

RY

IND

IE F

ILM

PU

BLI

C A

FFA

IRS

AR

TS

3534

SCIEN

CE/N

ATU

RE

DR

AM

AP

ERSO

NA

L HISTO

RY

IND

IE FILMP

UB

LIC A

FFAIR

SA

RTS

NEW

S/P

UB

LIC

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AIR

SIN

DIE

FIL

MEX

PLO

RE

AR

TSD

RA

MA

HIS

TOR

Y/I

DEN

TIT

Y





Worth Noting

• Th ough overall ratings were down slightly, unique viewers of Char-

lie Rose: Th e Week remained steady at nearly 10.5 million persons

2+ for the season.

• Th e ratings drop was a function of both lower frequency and fewer

minutes; both of these key measures fell by 6% for the year.

Cume (000)

10,467


Cume

7.3%

Worth Noting• PBS NewsHour ratings and streams surged in 2015-16, with streams growing by 90% year-over-year to 13.2

million. Th is was no doubt urged upward by the election cycle and political climate.

• While overall reach grew just 3% for the season, viewers watched more often and for longer periods. Aver-

age episodes viewed grew from 7 to nearly 8, and average minutes per viewer increased 16%.

3535

Worth Noting

• Washington Week’s season was the top-rated of the last three

broadcast years, coming in at 0.62 household, up 9%. P65+ rat-

ings climbed 15% year-over-year.

• Th e most-watched episode of Washington Week aired on the Friday

(July 22nd) between the Republican and Democratic National

Conventions, averaging 1.23 million viewers.

Cume (000)

13,369


Cume

9.3%

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

KEY

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

AVERAGE STREAMS PER EPISODENEWSHOUR VS. ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS

AVERAGE STREAMS PER EPISODECHARLIE ROSE VS. ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS

AVERAGE STREAMS PER EPISODEWASHINGTON WEEK VS. ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMS

Cume (000)

43,114

Cume (000)

15,701

SCIE

NC

E/N

ATU

RE

DR

AM

AP

ERSO

NA

L H

ISTO

RY

IND

IE F

ILM

PU

BLI

C A

FFA

IRS

AR

TS

3736

NEW

S/P

UB

LIC

AFF

AIR

SIN

DIE

FIL

MSC

IEN

CE

& N

ATU

RE

AR

TSD

RA

MA

HIS

TOR

Y/I

DEN

TIT

YSC

IEN

CE/

NA

TUR

ED

RA

MA

PER

SON

AL

HIS

TOR

YIN

DIE

FIL

MP

UB

LIC

AFF

AIR

SA

RTS

PROGRAM AUDIENCE AFFINITIES

HOW TO USEMarketing professionals have used this information to guide program cross-promotion, and development staff s have found it valuable for crafting direct mail copy or pledge scripts. Th is program affi nity chart is also helpful for understanding whether programs sched-

uled for fl ow have indeed achieved the intended audience overlap. It can also help identify two programs, not currently scheduled together, that have affi nity and might make a good pairing in the future or once a past title has become available for local acquisition.


ELECTION COVERAGE 2016


HOW TO READTo be read across, starting in the upper left of the chart: “Of all the households that watched American Masters, 20% also watched American Experience during weeks when both pro-grams aired.”

KEY

0-10% 10-20% 20+%

When two programs never aired within the same week, a gray box is shown.

HOUSEHOLD AND DEMO RATINGS FOR MAJOR CAMPAIGN EVENTS

RATINGS PER NIGHT: NATIONAL CONVENTIONS

CUMULATIVE AUDIENCE: NATIONAL CONVENTIONS (000)

3938

POP-OUT VIEWERS* POP-OUT AUDIENCE COMPOSITIONINDIAN SUMMERS

DOWNTON ABBEY

MAKING NORTH AMERICA

THE BLACK PANTHERS

JACKIE ROBINSON

PBS ARTS: UNITY

PREMIERE DATE: 9/27/2015






* AUDIENCE DATA ARE FOR THE PREMIERE EPISODE ONLY.

4140

PBS PRIMETIME AUDIENCE COMPOSITION BY SERIES

4342

INDICES OF CONTRIBUTOR STATUS & CONSUMER BEHAVIORS

Arts

Civic

Engagement

Tech

Enthusiasts

Financial

Investments

(over $250K)

Foreign

Travel

1.8x3.0x2.0x

2.0x

3.1x

1.0x

1.9x 197

1.7x

143

193

1.3x

22.0x 193 1.9x

170 22.0x

159 184

1.8x

0 - 1x 1x - 2x

KEY

2x and over

1.4x195

496

2.2x

1.2x

HOW TO READTh is chart is based on the fusion of Nielsen audience information for PBS viewers 18+ and MRI data for adults 18+. Th e indices show how the heaviest viewers of each PBS series compare to all heavy Primetime TV viewers age 18+ on a variety of attributes including (on a self-reported basis) having made a contribution to PBS within the last twelve months. To be read across, starting in the upper left of the chart: “Call the Midwife has an Arts Index of 2.2, meaning that heavy viewers of Great British Baking are more than twice as likely than all US heavy Primetime viewers to have attended classical music or opera performances.”

HOW TO USEAmong other things, the selected attributes help to illustrate the qualitative diff erences between PBS viewers and viewers of other programming, help-ing to make a case, beyond the ratings, for sponsoring PBS shows. For example, if a travel-related business were interested in local sponsorship around a national series, shows like Masterpiece and Mercy Street might be good options, since their viewers index the highest for foreign travel. Th e largest indices for people who attend classical music or opera performances are found with American Masters and Call the Midwife, suggesting that these might be good choices for prospective sponsors in the arts sector. On the other hand, an investment company looking for viewers with high net worths could conceivably consider just about any PBS primetime series, since all over-index for viewers with investments in excess of $250K. What opportunities do you see when you study this chart?

1.2x

1.6x

0.8x

1.6x 1.4x

221

Contributor

1x

1.2x

1.4x

1.4x

2x

1.2x

1.3x

1.2x

2x

1.4x

1.1x

2.4x

1.4x

1.4x

1.2x

1.0x

1.7x

1.7x 1.8x

1.2x1.9x

1.3x

1.3x

1.0x

2x

1.8x

1.8x

1.5x

1.2x

1.6x

1.7x

1.7x

1.9x

1.6x

1.4x

1.7x

1.9x

1.1x

1.2x

1x

1x

0.7x

1.7x

1.3x

1.2x

1.2x

1.3x

1.2x

1.4x

1.2x

1.3x

1.3x

1.1x

1.5x

1.4x

1.4x

1.3x

1.3x

1x

1.3x

1.4x

1.1x

1.1x

1.2x

0.6x

1.4x

1.3x

1x

1.3x

1.2x

0.5x

1x

1x

1x

1.1x

0.5x

1.3x

1.2x

1x

1.3x

1.4x

00.9x

1.3x

1x

1.2x

1.4x

1x

1.9x

1.9x

1.7x

1.4x

1.7x

1.5x

2.2x1.6x

1.6x

1.2x

1.3x

1.7x

00.9x

2.2x

1.6x

1.6x

1.4x

00.9x

4544

PART IIIDAYTIME KIDS SEASON OVERVIEW

Children’s media consumption patterns continue to evolve with traditional

television viewing continuing to be the most popular option for viewing

content. As children view more content online, over-the-top, or on mobile

devices, television viewing has eroded. To keep up with the changing environment,

PBS KIDS programs are available on many platforms, including OTT and mobile.

During the 2015-2016 season, the PBS KIDS team successfully launched Nature Cat

and Ready Jet Go!, expanding our slate of entertaining and educational programming

targeted to children aged 2-8 years old. Th ese series fi t well with the existing

television lineup. However to make room in the daytime grid, several back-to-back

strips of our most popular series were removed. Fewer double-strips, coupled with

the declining reach of television, resulted in a 26% ratings decline from last season.

With many viewing options on TV, PBS maintained a 5% share of the weekday

audience for Kids 2-8. Altogether, PBS and kid’s cable networks accounted for 39%

of TV viewing. Th e shifting landscape was evident with OTT accounting for 7% of

weekday TV time, up from 4% the prior season.

Of the PBS weekday audience, nearly one-third of the children watching PBS

weekdays were Hispanic, and a third received their television via an over-the-air

signal. For a full breakdown of the PBS KIDS TV audience across many segments,

refer to the chart on pages 48-49.

On digital platforms, PBS KIDS content saw slight declines in streaming from

the previous year. Th is wasinfl uenced by measurements changes (removing the

contribution of auto-played content) as well as moving from 11 minute episodes

to 22 minute episodes. While this has led to fewer streams, it has increased

engagement.

KIDS 2-8 RATINGS: PBS AND OTHER NETWORKS

2014-15 TO 2015-16 CHANGE

-40% +40%

Color bars indicate ranges of percent change over the previous season’s Kids

2-8 average audience rating.

PBS KIDS and most networks are down, driven by an overall decline in children’s traditional TV viewing

4746

PBS KIDS SHARE OF M-F DAYTIME VIEWING: K2-8

PBS KIDS STREAMING BY PROGRAM (000)WEEKDAY DAYTIME TV AUDIENCE COMPOSITIONPBS KIDS viewing skews low-income and broadcast only

PBS KIDS STREAMING BY PLATFORMOTT growth is coming at the expense of PBS KIDS and the children’s cable networks Majority of PBS KIDS streams come from mobile devices

PBS KIDS streams are down, but still over 4.3 billion

TOTA

L U

S T

V

VIE

WER

S 2+

TV

VIE

WER

S IN

H

H W

/ C

HIL

D

UN

DER

6

PB

S V

IEW

ERS

IN H

H W

/ C

HIL

D

UN

DER

6

MOBILE DESKTOP OTT

KEY

KEY

2014-2015 2015-20162013-2014

2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

Total: 18.50

Total: 17.39Total: 17.09

4948

PBS KIDS AUDIENCE COMPOSITION BY PROGRAM

HOW TO READAmong Kids 2-8, 42% of the PBS KIDS viewing is done by children in homes with an annual income of less than $40,000

5150

U.S. POPULATION TRENDS TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

DAILY TIME SPENT USING MEDIAPRIMETIME TUNING TO OTT DEVICES

MED

IA L

AN

DSC

AP

E MED

IA LA

ND

SCA

PE

PERSONS 18+

Nielsen measurement of tuning to OTT did not begin until March 2014

Worth Noting

• Th e TV population stayed unchanged at 116.4 million households. Th e composition of these households has become

slightly more diverse and increasingly composed of Adults 65+, which saw the largest gains year-over-year.

• With more homes having access to OTT devices, more persons are using this technology to view TV in Primetime. Th e

growth is occurring across all age groups, with the largest growth in viewing among Adults 35-54.

Worth Noting

• According to the Nielsen Company, there has been a change in how homes receive television, with fewer cable/satellite

homes than before and more broadcast-only (over-the-air) and broadband only (internet viewing via TV or monitor)

homes. Homes are increasingly adding viewing devices (such as OTT) and subscription viewing services (such as Netfl ix).

• More devices mean more opportunity to consume media. And with that, media consumption has increased to over 8

hours a day. Live TV viewing declines have tapered off , losing only 3 minutes versus the prior period.

Data for SVOD not available for 2013-2014

2013-2014 2015-20162014-2015

KEY

Audience Insight 2016

Th is is the fi fth edition of the Audience Insight report, designed to provide Public Television leaders--from programmers and general managers to marketers and development professionals--with a detailed overview of how PBS’s National Program Service performed in the most recently completed television season and who’s in our audience.

Th is book covers a 52-week period beginning on September 21, 2015 and ending September 18, 2016. It provides three-year trends on some of the most important metrics. Th e report also includes information about the competitive landscape as well as trends in the U.S. population and media usage.

New in this year’s edition:

More information about PBS’s performance on digital platforms. Analytic callouts throughout the book (labeled “Worth Noting”) to

provide helpful context or highlight key data points. Cumulative television audience data (“Cume”) for each on-going series. More information on the individual series within the Masterpiece

anthology.

A wrap-up on PBS’s 2016 election coverage.

Booklet designed and produced by City Square Associates, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, Version 1.0

For a downloadable PDF of the book, go to:MyPBS.org / Programming / Research / Audience Insights

For additional copies contact:Gale Malloy, [email protected]

For more information on Program Analytics & Insights at PBS, contact:Raj Bhansali, [email protected]

audience insight 2016 - whro-tvsupport.whro.org/images/pdf/tv-audience-insights-2016.pdfaudience...

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