Gen Z watching TV: a myth or reality?

Generation Z (or Gen Z), people aged 13-28, can be defined as fully immersed in the digital world, dominated by social networks and a constant influx of information. As they enter adulthood, this generation is beginning to crystallise their choice of which brands they will be loyal to and is adopting casual shopping habits. However, various myths accompany it, one of the main ones being that they don't watch TV.

This generation is interesting not only because they are the newest addition to the population with buying power, but they were also the first to have wide access to the Internet from their birth. A thing that has greatly influenced their buying behavior and their acceptance of advertising messages from various media. In traditional TV viewing on a daily basis though, we can see a decline compared to other generations, a 19% decline compared to Millennials and a 24% decline compared to Generation X. However, still as much as 50% of the Gen Z population in the country watches TV on a daily basis.

The decline can mainly be linked to a change in the preferred means of receiving video content from TV to smartphone. Gen Z uses the smartphone as their main device, which is owned by 92% of the generation, the highest ratio of any previous generation. Further, we can also link the decline to the proliferation of streming platforms and user-generated content. Smartphones allow them to watch short videos on social networks like Tik Tok or Instagram. Or longer content on streaming platforms like Netflix, Max, Prime Video and similar platforms. In many cases, the TV or streaming platform is played as a secondary screen to the smartphone surfing, which means that the TV ad can distract them from their surfing with more of a soundtrack than visuals.

In television for 2023 and 2024, this generation watched entertainment format genres and reality shows the most, followed by fiction and documentary formats and news. They are able to watch most feature films and series via streaming when they want and where they want. Therefore, if we look at it from the perspective of all types of media where video content can be watched, we see a change in the order in that fiction (especially comedy) formats are at the top, followed by entertainment shows, documentary shows, reality shows and news. Also, but we have to keep in mind that nowadays many TV stations have already previewed shows on their partner streaming platforms such as Rose for the Bride on Voyo and later aired on Markiza, also the series Love in Istanbul, which premiered on JOJ Play in August 2024 and was only aired on TV on 21 April this year. This also affects the overall TV viewership of this generation.

Forms of advertising such as product placement, sponsorship and the use of influencers are therefore on a par with classic spot advertising on TV, and by using them together, we can create a higher reach and visibility for a brand or product. We can assess that with this generation, thanks to the slight decline in traditional TV viewing and the shift to streaming, we are opening up unique opportunities to link advertising across multiple media, its interactivity and the possibility to become viral content, thus not only maximizing but also diversifying reach and increasing media value. However, we still have a few years to go before the entire Gen Z population transitions into an adult and buying-able group. Which means that even the subtle decline we are now seeing in TV viewing habits can be offset, jogging into the routines of adult life for an entire generation.