When Black audiences stream, they’re picking ad-supported services like Tubi over subscription services like Disney Plus.
According to a new report from Nielsen, Black audiences accounted for 24% of all minutes viewed across all AVOD services in June. Nielsen said Black viewers account for 13% of the U.S. television universe and 16% of linear TV viewing.
Among the top AVOD services, Black viewers account for 39% of the hours consumed on Fox-owned Tubi, 36% of viewing on ViacomCBS’s Pluto TV and 22% of viewing on The Roku Channel. Black audiences consume 22% of YouTube viewing hours, Nielsen said.
When it comes to subscription video services, Black viewers represent mostly smaller shares.
Black viewers represent 10% of the hours consumed on Disney Plus, 15% of Netflix viewing, 17% of Hulu and 18% of Amazon Prime Video.
Nielsen said that streaming platforms have an opportunity to grow viewership by taking a more tailored approach to their content and marketing strategies.
“We know that streaming platforms are steadily evolving their user experiences to help connect audiences with content, but as competition rises, platforms will be more likely to target specific audiences—through marketing, content and ads—rather than hope for the best by trying to appeal to everyone,” Nielsen said in a blog post.
It adds that while Nielsen's Gracenote indicates shifts in representation of many diverse identity groups in content, “there is still a notable opportunity for publishers outside of the more traditional channels seeking to engage racially and ethnically diverse viewers with unique content that reflects their unique experiences.”
Hispanics account for 19% of the U.S. population and 18% of the U.S. TV universe, but they spend less time with traditional TV than with streaming services.
For example, Hispanics represented 21% of the viewing minutes on YouTube.
“Race and ethnicity, however, aren’t the only demographics that content publishers can hone in on,” Nielsen said.
“Unsurprisingly, Disney Plus attracts the biggest share of minutes viewed among people 2-17, given its extensive back catalogue of animated classics as well as content from across Disney’s associated brands and franchises, such as Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars," Nielsen said.
Meanwhile, persons 55 and older dominate linear TV viewing. But that doesn’t mean they’re not streaming too. “This audience accounts for a notable share of time with Amazon Prime Video and several of the newer AVOD and MVPD/vMVPD entrants,” Nielsen said.
