Facebook, the largest social network in the world, is attracting more people aged between 18 and 24 years during prime-time hours than any of the four major television networks, according to a study by Nielsen.
According to the survey, half of young people aged between 18 and 24 years, who have both TV sets and computers, access the Facebook social network between 8 PM and 11 PM during the weekdays, says Nielsen.
On the other hand, the four stations included in this study draw between 37 and 43 percent of these young people. Nielsen declined to specify which television networks were included in the study, which was commissioned by the Nielsen company for Facebook.
This is the first major study that compares the “audience” of Facebook with that of television, providing advertisers with information about the users of the two types of platforms.
The information provided by this study is favorable to Facebook in the fight of the social network to break the monopoly held by television networks on advertising budgets.
“This data really changes the way marketers view us now. They used to think of us as a niche part of their ad strategy, but this data establishes us as a really important piece of giving them reach,” said Fred Leach, head of measurement research at Facebook.
On the other hand, during the day, Facebook has a greater audience than that of the four stations, according to the study. Facebook attracts more than half of people aged between 18 and 44 years. None of the four stations included in this study draws more than 40% of people in this age group.
“Most people during the workday don’t have a TV in front of them,” said Fred Leach.
But Facebook does not have as high a success among people mature in prime-time. During this time, Facebook attracts only 48 percent of people aged between 35 and 44 years, while each of the TV networks included in the study may attracts over 60 percent of viewers in this age group.
Nielsen study does not specify the time spent by users of social network Facebook. The study also does not provide information on other social networks like Twitter.
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