Cord Cutting May Not Be Hurting Traditional Media As Much As You Think

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There’s no question that the rise of connected devices has completely changed media consumption. However, according to Citi analyst Mark May, smartphones and other digital media devices may not be taking as much share from traditional TV as many think.

The latest numbers from Nielson suggest media doesn’t seem to be a zero-sum game. While it’s true that there is a limited amount of hours in the day for consumers, the total amount of time adults spend consuming media has been steadily rising in recent years. In fact, adults now view an entire hour more of media per day than they did just a year ago.

Of course, growth in connected devices has been huge. In the past year, the amount of time adults spend on tablets is up 63 percent, the amount of time they spend on smartphones is up 60 percent and the amount they spend on multimedia devices (such as Alphabet Inc GOOGGOOGL’s Chromecast) is up 44 percent.

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Those numbers might imply that consumption of traditional TV is plummeting, but Nielson reports only a 1 percent decline in time spent on traditional media platforms in the past year.

“This suggests that rather than simply taking share from TV and other traditional channels, new digital media devices like smartphones are actually growing the overall media pie,” May explained.

TV and other traditional media still make up 70 percent of total consumption time.

So far this year, traditional media stocks Comcast Corporation CMCSA and Time Warner Inc TWX are each up more than 10 percent while connected device leaders Google, Netflix, Inc. NFLX, and Apple Inc. AAPL are all down more than 10 percent.

Disclosure: The author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.

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Posted In: Analyst ColorAnalyst RatingsTechMediaGeneralChromecastCitiCord CuttingMark MayNielson
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