Viacom reveals audience’s social media habits

Viacom has unveiled the results of a study into how viewers of its channels use social media to interact with TV.

The US-based company, which runs channels including MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon, surveyed over 5,000 viewers across the US, UK, Germany, Brazil and Russia.

The respondents were all in the 13-to-49 demo all regularly used social media. Across the sample, people engaged in ten TV-related activities a week on social media.

Within that, 72% said they were interacting with friends and fans, making it the most popular activity ahead of the 66% searching for programme information, 61% who were watching clips and trailers, 57% who were following or liking a particular show and 49% who were signing up for freebies.

Viacom said that three distinct types of motivations for TV-related social media use emerged: ‘functional’, including searching for programme information, ‘playful’ covering gaming and competitions and ‘communal’, which is effectively connecting with others.

By country, Viacom said viewers in Brazil embrace TV-related social media activities the most frequently, while those in Germany are the least likely to do so.

“Our objective with this research was not only to understand what drives our audiences to social media, but also to see how their social media activity impacts viewing behaviours,” said Colleen Fahey Rush, executive vice-president and chief research officer, Viacom Media Networks.