Press Play with Madeleine Brand
How COVID-19 affects the way people watch TV
Just as COVID-19 has reshaped almost every aspect of life, it’s also reshaped TV habits, like the types of shows people are watching and how they’re watching them.
By Madeleine Brand • • 1 min readJust as COVID-19 has reshaped almost every aspect of life, it’s also reshaped TV habits, like the types of shows people are watching and how they’re watching them.
Steve Langdon is Partnership Director at Parrot Analytics, a data company that looks at social media to see how and what people are watching on TV. He says unscripted content is popular (e.g., “Tiger King”), and thrillers and historical dramas are down now. He also says people are watching TV during the day more, thus changing the idea of prime-time TV.
Film critic Alissa Wilkinson says many streaming platforms are offering free content right now, most notably HBO. Sling also offers free viewing in the evening.
