Addressing TV Ratings During the Pandemic

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By Jacob Maslow

During the past few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken the world by storm. People all over the world, including in the United States, have been forced to stay in their homes as they tune in to various briefings from global health experts talking about the dangers of this novel virus. Indeed, government officials that most people had never heard of prior to the COVID-19 pandemic have become household names. One of the side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the impact on TV ratings.

There have been some major shifts in the way people all over the country have been consuming TV. Based on a research survey that was conducted back in April, close to 90 percent of those surveyed indicated that they had been following news related to the COVID-19 pandemic closely. This is one of the biggest reasons why national news ratings have largely gone up. People know that they can get information on the pandemic if they listen to health officials whose broadcasts about the COVID-19 pandemic are aired on live TV.

Another major impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a severe dropoff in sports ratings. It should come as no surprise to people that the general public is not happy about sports leaving the TV. The NBA season was fired to come to a halt. The NCAA basketball tournament was canceled. The MLB season never started. There are even question marks about what is going to happen to the NFL, with their season supposed to start in a few months. This has caused a major shift in viewing habits, as people who used to watch sports have been forced to watch something else. This has only contributed to people wanting to cut the cord even more, as live TV and sports are some of the few reasons left why people subscribe to cable.

This has contributed to something called pandemic fatigue, where people are looking for other options, such as ReplayTV. Many households are looking for better ways to consume TV and keep themselves entertained during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has also given rise to Android TV Launch Control, which has also seen a rise in popularity during the last few months. The reality is that people are watching TV more during the COVID-19 pandemic than they had in the past. People are spending more time at home and they are looking for ways to stay entertained. With the streaming wars reaching a fever pitch and a significant amount of uncertainty still surrounding the sports world, many of these issues are only going to continue to grow.

Right now, it is important for everyone to continue to listen to global health experts. The reality is that even though some businesses are starting to reopen once again, the virus is still here. It will likely continue to be here until there is a vaccine available, which might not be for a year. TV will continue to play an important role during this time.

 

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