Freshly released highlights of a 2023 Horowitz Research survey of African American consumers that are between the ages of 12 and 27 reaffirm decade-long trends that demonstrate how this segment of American viewers overindex on watching TV content.
And, while mobile viewing of television content is strong, it is the use of an actual TV set that is perhaps most notable — especially as NEXTGEN TV-capable sets increase in availability with the rollout of new markets across the U.S.
Horowitz Research’s FOCUS Generation Next 2023 report finds that 73% of Black Gen Zers watch TV content at least weekly.
While a good amount of this TV content viewing happens on a mobile device, Black Gen Zers are more likely to watch on an actual TV set than any other screen. In fact, nearly 7 in 10 Black Gen Zers have a TV set in their bedroom, over-indexing compared to Gen Zers overall.
While that’s encouraging news for broadcast television station owners, Horowitz finds that, for this consumer group, streaming is the main way this audience accesses content. “Like among Gen Z overall, Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video are the top streaming services used.
However, free ad-supported streamed TV services (FAST) are gaining traction — presenting opportunities for companies including Allen Media Group, which operates the Local Now FAST channel platform.
“Compared to Gen Zers overall, Black Gen Zers are more likely to use Tubi, Pluto TV, Starz, and BET+ — all platforms that have a wide selection of content catering to Black viewers,” Horowitz notes. “They also over-index for using traditional cable/satellite services, reporting higher weekly usage than Gen Zers overall. Movies, animated shows, dramas, and music-related content are the top genres consumed, and Black Gen Zers over-index compared to other Gen Zers for watching reality TV and talk shows/entertainment/gossip shows.”
The full FOCUS Generation Next report provides a comprehensive look at Gen Z’s relationships and behaviors around video content and other information and entertainment, their relationships with brands, and what brands need to consider when looking to engage these politically aware digital natives.
The survey was conducted in October 2023 among 812 Gen Zers (13-24 year-olds) in the U.S., with oversamples of Latinx, Black, and Asian. Data have been weighted to Census.
