A Study of Online Audience Usage in Conjunction With a

Large Market, Daytime, Magazine Show

A Thesis

Submitted to the Faculty

of

Drexel University

by

Colleen M. McAndrew

in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree

of

Master of Science in Television Management

May 2011
 OVERVIEW
Television shows have many objectives, some entertain through drama and comedy,

some provide news and weather, some offer life style topics, while others air sporting events. In

recent years, the Internet has emerged as a medium by which to engage an audience. The Internet

has become a tool to set the overall tone, to enhance the viewing experience, and to build the

audience of a show. While this study does not offer universal recommendations, it reveals the

interactive practices of a small sample of users in conjunction with a large market, daytime,

magazine show over a four-month period.

With the rapid expansion of the Internet, consumers have more access to new resources

offering anytime/anywhere-viewing opportunities. It is imperative for television program

providers to understand their product and their consumers by analyzing the viewers’ habits,

practices, and behaviors. In order to understand this relationship, this research examines how an

audience is using online media provided by a large market, daytime, magazine television show.

A case study was conducted with the collection of data through web analytic programs

such as Omniture and organized using Excel to review the following research questions:

1. Who is the audience of the television show?

2. How is the audience using the website?

3. How is online usage correlated with traditional television viewing?

The results of this case study provide insight about the demographics of the audience and

the most popular video topics. In reference to website usage, peak hours of website usage and

inbound websites were also researched. Correlation Coefficients between traditional television

viewing and online usage as well as website page views and social media usage were calculated

to determine the relationship between different and similar media.

 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Social Media can bring a second life to links.

• Posting a link on social media does not guarantee instant success.

• Facebook more closely followed the changes in Nielsen Ratings; whereas Twitter more

closely followed the changes in page views.

• Experiment with posting times; peak, non-peak and building a routine

• Higher correlation exists between similar platforms.

• Cross-promotion may lead to more inbound links.

 RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Main Website

The most-used feature of the website is to watch the individual taped segments online.

During the course of the research period, 790 segments were uploaded to the website.

Determining what segment categories were popular online can help to book similar guests for

future shows. In this study, the most popular guests fell in the categories of music, guests with a

local connection, and fashion. Keep in mind, this is a locally produced, day-time show. There is

a strong-connection to topics that pertain to the local community and a large focus on family-

friendly activities or ideas.

1. Most Viewed Video Segment Categories

Music Local Fashion Gardening Celebrity
Performance Community (Value; %) (Value; %) Interview
(Value; %) (Value; %) (Value; %)
Top 10
6; 60% 2; 20% 1; 10% 1; 10% N/A
Page Views
Top 20
9; 45% 5; 25% 3; 15% 2; 10% 1; 5%
Page Views

A main factor of success for these videos was an already-established, online following.

These guests share the video with their vast, established networks resulting in the video content

reaching more potential viewers. Fans may respond by posting on their social media and the

cycle continues as links are reblogged adding more inbound links to the website with the

potential of driving traffic back to the main website. It should be a priority of the show to

facilitate easy access to links and to provide them to the guests upon upload to ensure timely

sharing among social media.

Twitter and Facebook

Social media can build a deeper archive of online video content and provide a second life

to video segments. This link may be shared for many months following the initial airdate adding

more play counts and spreading the word about the show or topic in discussion to additional

consumers.

Twitter and Facebook accounts were used frequently to post select segments of that day’s

show. Over the 88 days where an original show was produced, 56 video links were shared on

Twitter and 26 videos were shared on Facebook out of the total 790 available videos, leading to

only 10% of the possible videos being shared through the show’s social media.

In this case study, the average video views of those segments shared on Twitter were

close to a 200% increase compared to the page views of those that were not shared on Twitter1.

Sharing a video on Twitter does not mean instantaneous results in term of views for the shared

video. Sometimes the video will still fail to attract interest. Twitter should not be the only means

of promotion and should be incorporated in the overall marketing plan.

2. The Most Viewed Videos Links Shared on Twitter - 56 Links Shared

Links Shared Links Not Shared
(Value; %) (Value; %)
Top 10 Page Views 2; 20% 8; 80%

Top 20 Page Views 7; 35% 13; 65%

Top 50 Page Views 11; 22% 39; 78%


























































1
Average
Page
Views
When
Shared
on
Twitter
(154.84)
/






Average
Page
Views
When
Not
Shared
on
Twitter
(84.24)

 Looking at other active social media, the results are similar. The average of the page

views when the link was shared on Facebook increased by almost 150%.2

3. The Most Viewed Videos Links Shared on Facebook - 26 Links Shared

Links Shared Links Not Shared
(Value; %) (Value, %)
Top 10 Page Views 1; 10% 9; 90%

Top 20 Page Views 2; 20% 18; 90%

Top 50 Page Views 17; 34% 33; 66%

This study found only 56 links were shared via Twitter and only 26 via Facebook during

the period of time data was collected. Conducted over a four-month period of time, these results

show less than one link a day was posted through social networks. In order to remain active and

in the viewer’s mind, there needs to be a significant increase in activity. These posts can be

spread throughout the day; during peak times for the show, during primetime for overall Internet

traffic, during off-peak times when there is less competition, or routinely to build a habit with

users.

Information gathered from this study can lead to suggestions about potential best times to

post content. The results indicated the highest traffic on the website during the times of 11 am

and 4 pm. The time in between these high points was also among the highest traffic on the site.

Therefore, during the daytime, between the tent poles established at 11 am and 4 pm, may be

ideal times to drive more traffic to the site via social media.


























































2
Average
Page
Views
When
Shared
on
Facebook
(126.61)
/



Average
Page
Views
When
Not
Shared
on
Twitter
(88.44)




Time of Website Access

Each day’s visitors are continuously counted from midnight to midnight and are broken

up by the hour. For reference, the show tapes at 10:00 am and airs on a local television station at

11:00 am.

12.00%

Airing
of
Show



10.00%


8.00%


6.00%


4.00%


2.00%


0.00%

12:00
AM


10:00
AM

11:00
AM

12:00
PM

1:00
PM

2:00
PM

3:00
PM

4:00
PM

5:00
PM

6:00
PM

7:00
PM

8:00
PM

9:00
PM

10:00
PM

11:00
PM

1:00
AM

2:00
AM

3:00
AM

4:00
AM

5:00
AM

6:00
AM

7:00
AM

8:00
AM

9:00
AM


The highest traffic (11%) came at 11:00 am which is when the show airs. This indicates a

general interest of viewers simultaneously being connected via the television and the Internet,

with data showing over 50% of those visits were on the main homepage. One conclusion could

be that television viewers had a general interest in the show and landed on the main homepage to

inquire about more information. They were not directed by a link to a specific page.

The second highest percentage of 10% was at 4:00 pm. It is about this time of day when

viewers can watch that day’s show content online. Compared to the earlier time periods, there

are less main homepage views and more views of individual pages containing video within the

site. This may mean that views are coming directly from shared links to watch more video

content rather than a general inquiry about the show.

Referring and Inbound Websites

In addition to knowing when users are accessing the site, it is also important to know how

they are accessing the site, the webpage that referred them to the site, or what webpage they were

on before visiting the website of the show.

4. All Types of Referring Websites3

Search Engines Direct Other Websites

72% 16% 12%

All Referring Websites

5. Top 50 Inbound Referring Websites4

Search Engines Facebook Other Websites
Top 50
86% 8% 6%
Inbound Websites

The importance of search engine and of search engine optimization [SEO] becomes very

apparent taking a closer look at what terms users are searching for. Most searches included

variations of the show’s title. This is where the majority of traffic is coming from, so it needs to

be optimized to yield the best results. Incorporating this to the metadata needed to complete the

search, higher or better search results can be obtained.

Over the course of months, these inbound links add up and can contribute significantly to

page views and unique users. By adding more viewers, these inbound links from other websites

fit into Chris Anderson’s model of the long tail. Chris Anderson defines the long tail as “shifting


away
from
a
focus
on
a
relatively
small
number
of
"hits"
(mainstream
products
and



























































3
Data
collected
from
Omniture

4
Data
collected
from
Omniture

markets)
at
the
head
of
the
demand
curve
and
toward
a
huge
number
of
niches
in
the
tail.”5


Concerning
the
website
in
this
study,
each site may only refer one visitor, but with thousands

of potential links referring visitors to their respective video segments, these referrals from other

websites become a larger percentage.

These inbound links from other websites are a positive way to promote the content on the

show as well as to promote the branding of the show. Building relationships with other content

providers may lead to cross-promotional opportunities as well. The creation of these inbound

links may also result in new outbound links to the products mentioned above as a way to push

visitors to their sites as well.

The idea of cross-promotion with other products is important, but not as important as

cross-promotion within the brand itself, meaning the mentioning of online material during the

on-air broadcast. Constant reminders throughout the show can lead to online visits or mentions

on social networking sites. The real-time update nature of Twitter makes it a valuable tool to

track this conversation and follow the reaction to mentioning content available online during the

show. These mentions do not have to be verbal, but they can appear as a lower-third with a

Twitter hashtag, social network handle, or other relevant content.


























































5
Anderson, C. (2005). “Long Tail 101.” Retrieved from
http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2005/09/long_tail_101.html.

Correlation Coefficients

The last analysis in this case study looks to see if online usage correlated with traditional

television viewing. Using the correlation function within Excel, calculations were made using the

data collected for daily ratings, page views, Facebook fans, and Twitter followers.6 The

correlation ranges from 1.0 to -1.0 and indicates the amount of association between a dependent

variable and independent variable. As Cohen (1988)7 observed, in social sciences there is a great

contribution to other complicating factors that may decrease the coefficient when related to more

scientific studies. Correlation does not show causation, but can help determine the impact or

change one variable has on the other variable. These results can serve as a benchmark moving

forward to determine if the relationship between the variables in this study has increased or

declined.

The researcher analyzed the viewers in three important demographic groups;

1. Households Live Plus Same Day8

2. Females 25-54 Live Plus Same Day

3. Persons 18-49 Live Plus Same Day

These three demographics are important because they are the target demographics for the show’s

viewing audience and for advertisers.


























































6
Data
collected
from
Nielsen
Ratings,
Omniture,
Facebook,
and
Twitter,
respectively

7
Cohen,
J.
(1988).
Statistical
power
analysis
for
the
behavioral
sciences
(2nd
ed.)

8
Nielsen
Ratings
include
‘live’
viewing
plus
time‐shifted
viewing
that
occurs
before
3am
after
the
original


broadcast.

 The first correlation analysis looks for correlation between the traditional Nielsen

television rating and overall daily page views on the show’s website.

6. Correlation Coefficient for Nielsen Same Plus Same Day Rating and
Overall Daily Page Views
Demographic Correlation Coefficient
Households: -.030

Females 25-54 -.085

Persons 18-49 -.148

The results of -.030, -.085, and -.148 suggest there is almost no correlation between the

ratings the show receives on a given day. If the television show achieves a high rating, recorded

by Nielsen, there is a small correlation that will affect the viewing habits of the online audience.

It was found that the days with the highest television ratings did not match the days with the

highest online page views.

Searching deeper into the relationship of online usage, the correlation between the

Household Nielsen rating and the change in Facebook Fans or Twitter Followers was calculated.

This calculation was achieved by comparing the Nielsen Rating for the day’s show and the

change in Facebook Fans or Twitter Followers for the associated day. The on-air show makes

many references to search for the segments online but only makes a few references to follow

them on Facebook or Twitter.

7. Correlation Coefficient for Nielsen Same Plus Same Day Rating and
Daily Change in Facebook Fans or Twitter Followers
Demographic Correlation Coefficient

Facebook Twitter

Households: .448 .048

 The correlation of .448 between Household Rating and Facebook Fans is the highest of

all correlations done in this study, but is viewed as a medium strength relationship. More fans

may have Facebook accounts and are more comfortable becoming a fan on Facebook than

following the Twitter account. Facebook fans more closely follows the fluctuations in the

ratings. The day with the highest rating during the study resulted in the most Facebook fans in

one day, but not the most Twitter followers. The day with the most Twitter followers came on

the same day of the highest overall page views. The day with the lowest page views came after a

week hiatus where there were only reruns of the show.

The last correlation between overall daily page views and daily change in Facebook Fans

or Twitter Followers compares two online activities that are more closely linked to each other

because the social networks act as a tool to refer users to the main website.

8. Correlation Coefficient for Overall Daily Page Views and Daily

Change in Facebook Fans or Twitter Followers
Correlation
Coefficient
Page Views and Facebook Fans -.258

Page Views and Twitter Followers .149

The results of -.258 and .149 in Table 8 are considered a medium strength relationship

and are higher than when comparing television ratings and page views. These two variables are

more closely related as they are both online activities that may happen on the same screen.

Whereas the rating to page view relationship is crossing platforms and users would be using

multiple devices, making the correlation less likely.

Other Advantages Online

One advantage of the Internet when compared to broadcast television is there is no

schedule of programming to follow, no days where re-runs are scheduled, and content is not

available to a few markets but generally to anybody who has Internet access. Most shows have a

period where they are off-air and there are re-runs, which can lead to a drop in ratings and

reduced Internet activity. This time does not have to be wasted but can be enhanced online

through unique techniques to keep viewers engaged with the show when there is no new,

physical product. Examples are posting behind-the-scenes footage, user-generated content, or

highlight clips. Again, this study focused on a local show that was based in a large market. Even

though the audience is one of the largest, it is still a limited number of viewers due to

broadcasting restrictions of a local station. These limitations may not be the same when viewing

videos on the website. In most cases, viewers from outside the Designated Market Area [DMA]

can watch content just as easily as one within the DMA. This can lead to a larger potential

audience than what may have previously been assumed with the traditional broadcast, leading to

a larger audience.