People born between 1981 and 1996 watch more online video than traditional television. This is according to a report by research company eMarketer, which revealed that 64.2 million millennials watch online or downloaded videos at least once a month compared to only 59 million who watch traditional television at least once a month.
The study further revealed that 89% of millennials will watch online video between 2018 and 2020. But does this mean that television is dead for millennials? Probably not.
The millennial generation may not be as fond of watching television as the Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers, but when they do, these are the five television shows that they follow:
National Football League (NFL)
34% of millennial Americans in a survey said that they prefer to follow the NFL’s regular season games on television rather than online. This may not come as a surprise since the NFL is one of the top sports for millennials and more people from this generation are already trying their luck on placing and learning about sports betting through sites like silentbet.com.
But there are more reasons millennials love to watch the NFL live on television rather than on their mobile devices. For one, a great sport like American football deserves a wide screen. Fans have more thrill watching games on a bigger screen rather than streaming on a mobile device. Most sport streaming channels are also subscription-based, which means that millennials would rather watch games for free rather than pay for it.
The Tonight Show
Jimmy Fallon has a good sense of humor and his show is already an institution in late night shows. But The Tonight Show is popular to millennials for another reason—social media connection. Millennials are known to consume social media content more than any other generation, and the show has capitalized on this by making sure that highlights or extra clips are regularly uploaded on its YouTube channel. At least once a week, you will see a clip of a guest singing with Jimmy Fallon or doing one of his challenges on the show’s channel, and with millennials being huge fans of YouTube videos, they love how they can watch their favorite show on TV the previous night and enjoy more of it the morning after.
Game of Thrones
For a show that ran for eight seasons, featured epic battles and ended in a way that no one could have ever predicted, it was only natural for millennials to love Game of Thrones. But the phenomenal TV show has grown beyond just ratings.
In fact, it has now become a cultural phenomenon occupying almost every online platform possible. You will see Game of Thrones in memes, quotes, watch parties, products and podcasts, and its cast has gained millions of followers online helping them become big-ticket celebrities before they even realized it. And while the series finale may not have pleased a lot of millennial fans around the world, Game of Thrones will go down in history as the television show that is tied to millennials as the film Reality Bites was tied to Generation X.
The Bachelor
Millennials may have been raised at a time when technology is booming, but it doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate a good, old love story every now and then. This is especially true for millennial women who love watching “The Bachelor,” a television show where one man dates 30 women in search for true love.
The show may not be appealing to some because of its twisted plots, confusing contestants and questionable bachelors, but millennial women still love to watch the show—and gossip—with girlfriends over takeout on a Thursday night. Its like the new form of book club where women share their opinion about a man’s search for true love.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Also known simply as Ellen, the American TV variety comedy talk show hosted by Ellen DeGeneres has been on air since 2003 and is still one of the most watched shows on American TV with more than 4.5 million views per episode. But like “The Tonight Show,” Ellen has also captured millennials because of its multi-platform format where audiences of the show can also enjoy clips and highlights on the talk show’s YouTube channel, which is in the top 20 most-subscribed channels in the world.
Millennials love their television shows
The generation who is set to define the future is also like any other generation before it. At the end of the day, millennials also love a good time watching their favorite television shows. Although they have shorter attention spans than other generations, once they’re hooked on a show, they follow it religiously. And in this day and age, following is definitely a huge thing.
