TV viewing during the blackout: dramatic drop in affected areas offset by growth in other regions.
The power outage that hit a large part of the Czech Republic on Friday, July 4, had a significant impact on television viewership. In the most affected regions, live viewership fell by up to tens of percent. However, the impact of the blackout was mitigated nationwide by increased viewer interest in unaffected areas, according to Atmedia, citing data from ATO-Nielsen.
The largest power outage in recent years hit Prague, the Central Bohemian, Ústí nad Labem, Liberec, and Hradec Králové regions, as well as parts of the Pardubice and Olomouc regions on Friday, July 4.
In the most affected regions, there was a dramatic drop during the outage. For example, in the Ústí nad Labem region, live viewership between 12:00 and 15:00 was 80% lower than the average Friday afternoon over the previous three weeks. In the Liberec region, it fell by 67%, in Prague by 44% and in the Central Bohemian region by 40%.
In contrast, people in unaffected regions spent more time in front of their screens than usual. The South Bohemian Region recorded a 28% increase in viewership, the Pilsen Region 27%, and the South Moravian Region 23%. Higher viewership was also reported in the Vysočina, Zlín, and Moravian-Silesian regions.
"Total live TV viewership between 12:00 and 15:00 was 11% lower than on the previous three Fridays. The significant decline in some regions was partially offset by increases in others," explains Pavel Müller, Senior Head of Research & Marketing at Atmedia. According to him, all-day viewership was only 4% lower.
According to Atmedia representatives, it is common for exceptional situations to increase interest in television broadcasting. Viewers turn to television not only as a source of information, but also for entertainment and relaxation.
"Extraordinary events usually increase television viewership," says Michaela Suráková, director of Atmedia. "We saw this, for example, during the floods in September last year or when COVID-19 measures were announced. At that time, television became a daily companion for millions of people."
According to her, we see similar trends during major sporting events such as the Olympic Games or the Ice Hockey World Championship. TV viewership is also traditionally strong during Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Last year, an average of 5.6 million viewers aged 15+ tuned in to television in the Czech Republic every day, spending 3 hours and 36 minutes in front of the screen – which is above the European average.
Source: mediaguru.cz
