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Reachingamovingtarget:HowlocalTVstationsareusingdigitaltools
toconnectwithGenerationC
DouglasA.Ferguson
ProfessorofCommunication
CollegeofCharleston
Charleston,SC
ClarkF.Greer
ProfessorofDigitalMedia&CommunicationArts
LibertyUniversity
Lynchburg,VA
SubmittedtotheMassCommunicationDivision
NationalCommunicationAssociation
AnnualConvention2015
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
2
Abstract
Televisionisexperiencinggenerationalshiftsinviewing,dueinlargeparttodigital
technologies.Thisstudyexaminedtheextenttowhichastratifiedrandomsampleof178local
televisionstationsintheUSaremeetingthedemandsandneedsofGenerationCthroughtheuse
ofsocialmedia,mobiletechnologyandotheronlinecommunicationtools.Themajorfindingof
thisstudywasthattelevisionstationshaveagrowingrepertoireofsocialmediaandother
connectivitytoolswithwhichtoengagetheirviewers,butthatstationsinlargermarketsare
makingfulleruseofinteractivetechnologies.
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
3
Reachingamovingtarget:HowlocalTVstationsareusingdigitaltools
toconnectwithGenerationC
Thefactthatthetelevisionindustryisundergoingamassiveseachangeisnotsurprising
news.Nationalbroadcastnetworksandlocaltelevisionstationsarebothexperiencingseismic
shiftsinaudiences,aswellasinthewayprogrammingisdistributed.InanOctober2014
Newsweek
article,Maney(2014)asserted,broadcasttelevisionisabouttogothewayofAM
radio.Digitaltechnologiesarerapidlyalteringallfacetsoftheindustry.TheInternet,in
particular,hasservedasasignificantimpetusinchangingthenatureofsocietyfromonethatwas
traditionalandorganizedintothatwhichisnowcharacterizedasmobileandindividualized
(Maney,2014).EvenTVadvertisingisundergoingatransitioninsalesandplacementmethods
byexperimentingwithprogrammaticbuyingnationally(Shields&Marshall,2014)and
automatedspotsaleslocally(Stilson,2015).
Recenttrendsintelevisionviewershipoffertentativenewsforbroadcast'sfuture.Several
marketresearchstudieshavefoundthatthepreponderanceofviewersstillwatchtraditional
television(Friedman,2014),withmorethaneightintenviewerswatchingliveTVviaa
traditionalset(McAdams,2014).However,theotheraspectofviewershipisanagingTV
population.Inthe20132014televisionseason,theaverageageofviewerswasjustover44,
whilenetworkprogramviewersaveragednearly54yearsofage(Kang,2014).Onlythenumber
ofolderviewersremainsconsistent,whileyoungeraudiencenumbersaredecreasing.
Reportsaboutlocaltelevisionviewershipalsoarealsonotencouraging.Althoughthe
numberofpeoplewatchinglocalTVnewsincreasedfrom2012to2013,viewershipwasstill
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
4
downfrom2007to2013(Matsa,2014a).Reasonsfortheincreasein2013mighthavebeen
attributedtointerestinseveralmajornewstopics.
Withgenerationalshiftsintelevisionviewingpreferencesandtheproliferationofdiverse
digitalcommunications,howwellistheTVindustrystayingaheadofthecurve?Thatquestionis
especiallycrucialforthefutureoflocaltelevisionandtheemergenceoftheconnectedgeneration
GenerationC.Giventheextentofonlinenewsaccessandsharingthroughsocialmedia,as
wellascitizencontributionstotheprocess,MitchellandPage(2014)notedthatnewsoperations
mustbecomeinvolvedinmultipleformsofcontentdistribution.Withthatinmind,thepurpose
ofthisstudyistoexaminetheextenttowhichtelevisionstationshaveincorporatedsocial
networks,mobiletechnologiesandotherdigitaldistributionchannelsintotheirinformation
repertoires.
DefiningGenerationC
Audiencesegmentationhastypicallybeenbasedondelineatedageranges.Although
thereissomevariationinestablishingbirthyearsaccordingtodifferingsources,thereisgeneral
agreementontheidentificationandcharacteristicsofindividualsfallingwithinthoseparameters.
Forexample,theseincludedesignationssuchasSilent,BabyBoomersandGenerationX(see
e.g.,Fry,2015).Comparedwithgenerationaldivisionsbasedonstandarddemographicssuchas
birthyears,membersofGenerationCaredefinedaccordingtotheuseofcommunication
technology(Hardey,2011)and"basedoninterestsandbehavior"(Solis,2013,p.32).
AlthoughGenerationCdescribeslifestyleoveragecategories,millennialsages18to34
arethehighestpercentageofconnectedindividualsand"spendthemosttimeusingmedia"
(Irwin,2014,para.4).Inaddition,millennialsviewYouTubemorethananyotheronlinesource
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
5
(Guimares,2014).Furthermore,onereportpredictedthatGenerationCwillcomprisefourin
tenpeoplelivingintheU.S.by2020andwillprovidetheimpetusforeconomicgrowth,changes
inbusinesscommunicationandextendedsocialconnections(Friedrich,Peterson,&Koster,
2011).
AnearlydiscussionofGenerationCbyTrendwatcher(GenerationC,2004)defined
theseindividualsasconsistingoffourattributes:contentproducedbythegeneralpublic,
particularlyonline,ascomparedwithcontentgeneratedbyprofessionalscreativitycontrolby
theindividualoverpurchasesandproductdevelopmentandcelebritystatusoftheindividual
throughwidedistributionofonlinecontent.Friedrich,PetersonandKoster(2011)defined
GenerationCas"connected,communicating,controlcentric,computerized,
communityoriented"(para.6).
Alsoreferredtoasdigitalnatives,theseindividualshave"grownupwithubiquitous
digitaltechnology"(Manafy&Gautschi,2011,p.xi).ResearchbyMorrealeandcolleagues
(2014)foundthatGenerationCcollegestudentsperceivedthemselvestobecompetentintheuse
ofcommunicationtechnologies,andweremostactiveintextingandcellorsmartphoneuse,and
theuseofsocialmedia.Additionally,researchhasfoundthatcollegestudentsaresoconnected
totheiriPhonesthattheyexperiencedlessanxiety,lowerbloodpressureandheartrate,and
higherfeelingsofpleasantnesswhentheywereinpossessionofthephonewhenitwasringing
(Clayton,Leshner,&Almond,2015).
Thenotionofconnectivityisparticularlynoteworthy.Accordingtovariousmarket
researchreports,individualsages1834comprisethehighestpercentageofsocialmediausers
(Nielsen,2012),particularlyFacebook,Instagram,Twitter,Tumblr,PinterestandSnapchat
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
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(Guimares,2014).OnlyLinkedInwasdominatedbyusersage35andolder(Guimares,2014).
GenerationCalsoviewsexperienceswithcompaniesasimportantandseestheimportanceof
sharingtheirexperienceswithothers(Solis,2013).Theyalsotendtotrustwhatpeoplewhothey
perceivetobefriendspostonline.OnestudyfoundthatmembersofGenerationCwere
confidentinthetruthfulnessofcommentspostedto"consumerreviewsites"(Hardey,2011,p.
761).Theabilitytoconnecthasalsoredefinedtheconceptofworkfortheseindividuals.For
them,workisnotrelegatedtoaspecifictimeandspace,oreventotheamountoftimespenton
individualtasks(Evans,2011),largelybecausetechnologyallowsthemtoworkandinteract
fromanywhereatanytime.
Attitudesaboutanorganizationbasedonitsuseoftechnologyisalsoapertinentissuefor
thepresentstudy.Forexample,priorresearchfoundthatmillennialshadahigherperceptionof
brandsthatusedsocialmedia(Agozzino,2012).InastudyofGenerationC,Hardey(2011)
concludedthat,inordertoreachthem,companiesneedtofacilitateusergeneratedcontentto
"buildbrandloyalty"andtobetterunderstandhowthatgroupthinksandwhattheythinkabout
(p.763).
ItisnotsimplythatGenerationCisconnectedonsocialmedia,butthattheyuseavariety
oftechnologies,suchasmobile,tomaintainconstantconnections(Solis,2013).Accordingto
Nielsen(2012),membersofthatgroup,ages1834,comprisethehighestpercentageofpeople
whoownmobiledevices.Inaddition,aPewResearchstudynotedthat83percentofsmartphone
ownerswereages1829(Mobiletechnology,2014).Usingacombinationoftechnologyisalso
afactor,withonereportrevealingthat60percentofsocialmediausebyayoungerdemographic
isthroughmobiledevices(Adler,2014).
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
7
DiffusionTheoryandOrganizationalAdoptionofInnovations
Theimplementationofemergingtechnologiesbylocaltelevisionstationsisrooted
theoreticallyindiffusionofinnovations.Examiningtheadoptionofcommunicationplatforms,
suchassocialmedia,offeranunderstandingbothofthesenderandaudiencememberswho
choosetofollowthestation'ssocialnetworkpostings.Televisionstationsmightadopta
particularmedium,buttheperceivedeffectivenessofinnovationadoptiondecisionsarelimited
unlesstheiraudiencesbecomeapartofthecommunicationprocessbyfollowingorsubscribing
tothemedium.Diffusionisdefinedasaninnovationbeingcommunicatedovertimethrough
variousmediaamongmembersofasocialsystem(Rogers,1995).Inthepresentstudy,thesocial
systembeingexaminedislocaltelevisionstationsandtheextenttowhichthoseentitieshave
adoptedtheuseofsocialnetworks,informationfeedsthroughRSSandmobiledevices(suchas
apps)toconnectwithGenerationC.
Innovationadoptionoccursattwolevels.Attheindividuallevel,whetherornotaperson
adoptsagiveninnovationisrelatedtofiveperceivedcharacteristicsoftheinnovation(Rogers,
1995).Firstisrelativeadvantage,whichincludesweighingthebenefitsofadoptingthe
innovationcomparedwithcosts.Individualsmayalsodecideaboutimplementinganinnovation
basedonthecompatibilityoftheinnovationwiththeperson'svalues,knowledgeandexperience
withsimilarinnovations.Third,isassessingthelevelofcomplexityassociatedwiththe
innovation.Forthischaracteristic,higherlevelsofperceivedcomplexitymeanlesschanceof
adoption.Thelasttwoinnovationcharacteristics,observabilityandtrialability,involvethe
potentialadopterseeingtheinnovationinusebyothersandtryingtheinnovationthemselves.
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
8
Adoptionofinnovationsmayalsooccurattheorganizationallevel.Asitrelatestothe
catalystforadoption,therearedifferingmotivationsfororganizationaldiffusion(Rogers,1995).
Oneisoptionalanddeterminedbytheindividual.Second,themotivationtoimplementan
innovationmaybecollective,withtheadoptiondecisionmadebyagroup.Third,adoptionmay
beauthoritydriven,inwhich"fewindividuals"makethedeterminationtoadoptapracticeor
object(p.372).
Therearevariousfactorsthatinfluencetheimplementationofideasorobjectsin
organizationalsettings.Theseinclude"organizationalstructure,"theamountofresources
available,management,aswellasindividualswhoserveaseitherapositiveornegative
influenceofadoption(Rogers,1995,p.376).Organizationsmayalsoencounterissuessuchas
"performancegap,"whichisthedifferencebetweenanticipatedandactualresultsof
implementinganinnovation(Rogers,1995,p.393).Additionally,thesizeofanorganizationhas
beenfoundtocorrelatewiththedegreeofinnovativemess,sothat"
Largerorganizationsare
moreinnovative
"(Rogers,1995,p.379,emphasisinoriginal).Giventhatfactor,thefollowing
hypothesisisproposed:
H1:Televisionstationsinlargermarketswillevidenceahigherlevelofinnovativenessas
seenintheimplementationoftoolsforconnectivity.
LocalTVStationsTechnologyAdoption
Threetrendsareparticularlynoteworthyregardingthecurrentandfuturestatusof
television.Oneistimeshiftedviewing.AlthoughviewerspreferwatchingTVonatraditional
set,onestudyfoundthatjustover40percentpreferviewinglivetelevision,while43percent
preferredviewingatadifferenttime(Friedman,2014).Digitalisplayinganimportantrolein
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
9
viewerdynamics.LiveTVviewingisdecliningamongyoungerages,dueto"timeshiftingand
newonlineoptions"(Pallota,2014,para.2).Nielsen(2014a)reportedthattotaltimeviewingTV
hadincreasedin2014however,thegrowthwasattributedtoonlineviewing,withincreasesin
digitalconsumption.
Asecondtrendistheuseofalternativetechnologies,includingacquiringvideocontent
viamobiledevices,andbyoptingforstreamedprogrammingandoptingoutofcableservices
(i.e.,cordcutting).OnlineproviderssuchasNetflixandHuluhavebeeninexistenceforseveral
yearshowever,traditionalprogramprovidersarebeginningtotapintochangesinaudience
preferencesbyinstitutingtheirownformofalacartetelevision.Forexample,CBSis
attemptingtoattractcordcuttersbystartingitsownstreamingservice(Steel,2014).
ThethirdTVindustrytrendistheimpactofsocialmediaonnewsconsumption.Astudy
bythePewResearchCenterfoundthatsocialmediausersarealsousingthenetworkstoshare
storiesoreventocontributecontent(Matsa,2014a).AbouthalfofFacebookusersgetnewsfrom
thesocialnetwork,althoughmorethanthreequartersofthosepeoplegetnewsincidentally
(Matsa,2014b).Thereportalsonotedthatthedemographicsofpeoplewhoaccessnewson
socialmediavaries,withages3049predominantonFacebookandGoogle+,whilethetopage
groupfornewsis1829onTwitterandYouTube.
Overthepastthreedecades,mediascholarshavestudiedtheevolvinguseofvarious
technologiesbylocaltelevisionstationsintheU.S.Forexample,apairofstudiesinthe1980s
examinedtheuseofsatellitenewsgathering(SNG)equipment.Onestudyfoundthatlessthana
fifthofstationsusedSNGgear,withlargemarketstationshavingmore"access"tothe
technology(Lacy,Atwater&Powers,1988).Thesecondstudynotedthatcostwasanissuein
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
10
adoption(Lacy,Atwater,Qin&Powers,1988).Additionally,competitionwasapartofthe
adoptionrationale,inthatahigherdegreeofcompetitionmeantitwasmorelikelyastation
woulduseSNGequipment.Basedonmarketdynamics,thefollowinghypothesisisproposed:
H2:Stationsinmorecompetitivemarketswillevidencemoreuseofconnectivitytools
thanlesscompetitivemarkets.
ResearchaboutemergingtechnologyandTVstationshasalsoincludedaseriesofstudies
abouttheadoptionoftheWeb.ComparedwiththeSNGfindingsnotedabove,onestudyfound
thattherewasnorelationshipbetweencompetitionandthetypeofcontentonTVstations'
websites(Kiernan&Levy,1999).However,theresearchrevealedthatthereweresome
significantdifferencesinsitecontentbasedonnetworkaffiliationandincome.Theresearchers
concludedthatstationsatthetimedidnotappeartobeusingtheWeb'sfullpotential.Basedon
thatfinding,thisstudyseekstoanswerthefollowingresearchquestion:
RQ1:Whatistherelationshipbetweennetworkaffiliationanduseofconnectivitytools
bylocalTVstations?
Typeofcontentofferedonlinehasalsobeenconsidered.ChanOlmstedandPark(2000)
foundthatfewTVstationsofferedwebcastsofnews,withmoststationssimplyusingtext.They
alsonotedthattherewaslittlepresenceofinteractiveelementsorameansforsitevisitorsto
offerfeedback.Instead,thefocuswasondeliveringnewsandprogramminginformation.In
recentyears,YouTubehasbecomeapopularmediumforyoungeraudiencestobothviewand
contributecontent.A2014studybyPewResearchfoundthat,foradultWebusersoverall,
YouTubewasthesecondmostaccessedsocialnetworkafterFacebook,withmorethaneightin
ten1829yearoldshavingusedthatonlineresource(Anderson,2015).
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
11
ResearchhasalsoexaminedhowbroadcastandcablenetworksusetheWebasatoolfor
enhancedtelevision(Ha,2002).Thestudyfoundthereweresomedifferencesinwhatbroadcast
TVandcableofferedontheirwebsites.Broadcastnetworkshadmorevideoclipsand
programminginformationtoconnectwithshowfollowers.Incontrast,cablenetworkwebsites
weremoreuserfriendlyandhadmoreinteractivefeaturesthroughgamesandquizzes.The
analysisalsorevealedthatneitherbroadcastorcablesitesprovidedmanyparticipation
opportunities.
Localtelevisionstationsattempttodifferentiatethemselvesfromtheircompetition
throughprogramming,technologyandpromotion.Somestationshaveexperimentedwith
convergedoperationswithnewspapersthatincludedsharingnewsandresources(Singer,2004
Smith,Tanner&Duh,2007).Otherresearchfoundthatstationsalsouseweathertechnology,
suchasradarand"satellitemaps,"asapromotionstrategy(Daniels&Loggins,2010).In
particular,thestudynotedthatthetopstationsinamarketweremorelikelytobrandtheir
weathercasts.
Morerecently,anumberofstudieshavefocusedontelevisionandsocialmedia.
ResearchcomparingTVnetworksandmajornewspapersfoundthatthenetworksreliedon
Twitterasanewssourcemorethandidthenewspapersexaminedinthestudy(Moon&Hadley,
2014).AstudyoflocalTVstationTwitterpostingsfoundthatuseofthesocialnetworkdiffered
accordingtomarketsize(Greer&Ferguson,2011).Largemarketstationshadmoreinvitations
forinteraction,whilestationsinmediumsizemarketsweremorelikelytouseTwittertopromote
thestation'swebsite.Overall,Twitterpostingscomprisedmostlynewscontentandlittle
promotion.Similarly,researchaboutTVstationuseofPinterestfoundthatonlyabout
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
12
20percentofpinspromotedthestations,withlifestylethepredominanttypeofcontent
(Ferguson&Greer,2015).Marketsizewasrelatedtopostingsinthatlargemarketstationshad
themostpinboardsandmorefollowers,butstationsinsmallmarketsprovidedmorepins.Given
findingsofthesestudies,thefollowingresearchquestionisposed:
RQ2:Whatistheextenttowhichstationsarecreatingcommunity,basedonmarketand
stationcharacteristics?
Giventhewidespreaduseofsmartphonesby1829yearolds(Mobiletechnology,
2014)anddependenceonthistechnologybycollegestudents(Clayton,Leshner&Almond,
2015),itisalsopertinenttoexaminethisaspectoflocalTVconnectivity.Todate,onlyahandful
ofstudieshaveconsideredmobiledevicesinrelationtotraditionaltelevision.Onestudy
examinedtheuseofiPadstowatchtelevisionandfoundthatviewingTVontabletcomputers
wassupplementingratherthanreplacingwatchingtelevisiononatraditionalset(Greer&
Ferguson,2014).AstudyoftelevisionstationsinTampa,Florida,foundthatnewsonthe
stations'websiteswasthesameasthatfoundonthestations'mobileapps(Padley,2012).
Drawingonfindingsofpriorresearchaboutmobiletechnologyandtelevision,thisstudyseeksto
answerthefollowingquestions:
RQ3:Whatistherelationshipbetweenstationcharacteristicsandtheextenttowhich
televisionstationsarecommunicatingviamobileapps,RSSfeedsandalerts?
RQ4:Whatistherelationshipbetweenstationcharacteristicsandtheextenttowhich
stationsprovideopportunitiestocontributecontent?
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
13
Method
Stationswereselectedthroughastratified,systematicselectionaccordingtomethods
adaptedfrompriorresearch(ChanOlmsted&Park,2000Kiernan&Levy,1999).Stratawere
definedaslarge(150),medium(51100)andsmall(101210)markets.Withineachstratum,
20%ofmarketswereselectedsystematicallywitharandomstart.Thisresultedinselecting10
marketseachformediumandlarge,and22smallmarkets.180stationswerecoded.Twoof
thoseweremissingevenbasicinformation.
Withineachmarket,theauthorsaccessedthewebsitesofallfullpower,
EnglishlanguagestationsthatwereaffiliatedwithABC,CBS,NBC,FoxandCWnetworks.
WebsiteswereprimarilylocatedusingStationIndex.com,whichlistsmarketsinorderoflargest
tosmallestbasedontheestimatednumberofTVhomes,aswellasstationswithinthosemarkets
andlinkstothestationswebsite.Someweblinkswereoutdatedandlinkstosomeotherstations
werenotprovided.Inthoseinstances,asearchwasconductedforthestationsitethroughaweb
searchengine.Forsituationsinwhichmultiplestationssharedasinglewebsiteandsocialmedia
links,theauthorsrecordeddataforthestationsasiftheywereindividualentities.
Codinginvolvedsearchingthestationswebsiteforlinkstosixsocialmedia:Facebook,
Twitter,Instagram,Pinterest,Google+andYouTube.Thosesocialnetworkswereselectedfor
inclusioninthisstudybecausetheyrepresentedsixoftheeightmostvisitedsocialmediasitesin
lateOctober2014(Experian,2014).Also,apreliminarysitereviewrevealedthatTVstations
werelikelytoofferalinktooneormoreofthosesixsocialmedia.Websitestypicallydisplayed
socialmediaiconsatthetoporbottomofthehomepage.Socialmediasiteswereprimarily
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
14
accessedthroughthoselinks.Ifalinkforasocialmediasitewasnotpresentonthehomepage,a
Websearchwasconductedtodetermineifthestationhadagivensocialmediaaccount.
Theresearchersfirstrecordedthenetworkaffiliationofthestation,theNielsen
DesignatedMarketArea(DMA)rankandtheestimatednumberofTVhomes(Nielsen,2014b).
GiventhatthefocusofthisresearchisthewaylocalTVconnectswithGenerationC,codingof
socialmediaandothertechnologicalfeatureswasbasedonthreecharacteristicsofthat
generationnotedpreviously(e.g.,GenerationC,2004Friedrich,Peterson&Koster,2011):
Connected,Content/ControlandCommunity.
Connected
:Toassesslevelofstationconnectivity,theresearchersindicatedwhetheror
notthestationprovidedRSSfeeds,offeredamobileapporlinkedtoasitefortheuserto
downloadanapp,orprovidedawaytosignupforemailortextalerts.
Content/Control
:OnecharacteristicofGenerationCistheirdesiretocontributecontent.
Forthisstudy,contentwasoperationalizedasthestationencouragingandprovidingalocation
forvisitorstocontributecontentviathewebsite.Thisincludedpostingphotos,videosornews
tips.Forthiscategory,researchersindicatedwhetherornotthestationofferedthisfeature(0=no
1=yes)..
Community
:Codinghereincludedtwoelementsthatcomprisethenotionofcommunity:
thestationspostingofcontentandthelevelofbelongingtothestationcommunityasindicated
bythenumberoffollowers(Twitter,Pinterest,Instagram,Google+),subscribersandviews
(YouTube)andlikes(Facebook).
Table1isasummaryofthecontinuousmeasures:likes,tweets,pins,posts,views,
subscribers,followers,TVhouseholds.Nointerpretationwasnecessary,sointercoderreliability
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
15
wasnotanissue.Contentofferedamongthesixsocialmediatoolswasrecodedasdichotomous
(0=none,1=oneormorepieceofcontent(e.g.,tweets),butthensummedintoan
implementationofsocialtoolsscorerangingfrom0to6(
M
=3.70,
SD
=1.71,
N
=178).
Amongthe178stationsinthefinalsample,Facebookwasthemostcommonsocial
medium(169stations).Twitterwasusedby161stations,YouTube(associatedwithGoogle+by
ownership)had100stations.PinterestandInstagramwereusedby72and68stations,
respectively.
Table2showsthefrequencycountsforthediscretemeasures:mobileapps,RSSfeeds,
alerts,andinvitedcontributions(allofwhichwerecoded1whenthestationwebsiteindicated
theuseofthesetools).Mobileappsfounduseinthelargestportionofstations(63.48percent),
followedbyRSSfeeds(59.89percent),invitedcontributions(58.99percent)andemail/text
alerts(56.74percent).Alloftheseseemedinfluencedbywhetherthatstationofferedlocalnews,
whichwasunlikelyforCWaffiliatesandsomeFoxstations.Theapps,feeds,andalertswere
summedintoamobiletoolsvariablerangingfrom0to3(
M
=1.81,
SD
=1.13,
N
=177).
Competitivenesswasmeasuredbysortingthemarketsintotwogroups,lowandhigh,by
virtueofstationscollaboratingwithownership,websitecooperation,orfewerthan4
networkaffiliatedstations(coded1forlow,
n
=84).Highcompetitionstations(coded2,
n
=95)
hadfourormorenetworkaffiliatedstationsandshowednocollaborationforsocialtools,
ownershiporsharedlocalnews).Lowcompetitionstationswerenotsynonymouswithstationsin
smallmarkets.Forexample,Jacksonville(DMAnumber48)wascodedlowcompetitionand
Pocatello(DMAnumber163)wascodedhigh.
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
16
Results
Thefirsthypothesisproposedthatstationsinlargermarketswouldevidenceahigher
levelofinnovativenessintheuseofvariousdigitaltools.Thishypothesiswastestedby
comparingtheimplementationofsocialtoolsacrossthethreemarketsizegroups(83stations
belowthetop100DMA,46inthesecond50DMA,and50inthetop50DMA.AnANOVA
2
test,
F
(2,176)=8.78,
p
=.000,
=.03,showedsmall,significantgroupdifferencesbetween
theimplementationscore(3.17)forbottomrankedstationsandthetop50(4.34)andsecond50
stations(3.97),usingTukeybposthoccomparison(
p
<.05).H1wassupported(seeTable3).
Hypothesistwosoughttodetermineifstationsinmorecompetitivemarketswould
evidencemoreuseofdigitalconnectivitytoolsthanstationsinlesscompetitivemarkets.The
hypothesiswastestedusingthesameimplementationscore.Anindependentvariablesttest,
t
(177)=1.06,
p
=.29,revealednodifferencebetweenlowcompetitionstations(
M
=3.56,
SD
=
1.71,
n
=84)andhighcompetitionstations(
M
=3.83,
SD
=1.72,
n
=95).H2wasnotsupported.
Thefirstresearchquestionconsideredwhethernetworkaffiliationmadeadifferencein
2
theimplementationofsocialtools.AnANOVAtest,
F
(4,174)=5.98,p=.000,
=.09,
revealeddifferencesbetweentheimplementationscoreforCWaffiliates(2.39,
n
=23)andthe
scoresfortheotherfournetworkstations:Fox(3.32,
n
=37),ABC(3.90,
n
=41),NBC(4.16,
n
=38),andCBS(4.18,
n
=40),usingTukeybposthoccomparison(
p
<.05).RQ1thusrevealed
somedifferencewithregardtonetworkaffiliation,possiblyrelatedtowhetherastationcarried
localnews(seeTable4).
Researchquestiontwoconsidereddifferencesinthenumberoftweets,postsandpins.An
2
ANOVAtest(
F
(2,175)=26.36,
p
=.000,
=.23)showedlargedifferencesinsummedcontent
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
17
activityamongthethreemarketgroups:Top50stations(
N
=49)averaged48,442tweets,posts
andpins,whilesecond50DMAstations(
N
=47)had37,622postsandstationsbelowthetop
100had17,213(allthreegroupsdiffered
p
<.05byTukeybposthoccomparison).SeeTable5.
Althoughnothingpreventssmallmarketstationsfrompostingasmuchcontentaslargeaffiliates
(andsomestationsdid),topmarketstationsonaverageseemtogivesuchcommunitybuildinga
higherpriority.
Thesecondresearchquestionalsoexamineddifferencesbynetworkaffiliation.Another
2
onewayANOVA(F(4,173)=6.85,p=.00,
=.14)showedthatpostingcontentdifferedby
networkaffiliationdividedintoonegroupcomprisedofthepostsofCWaffiliates(6,822.48,
n
=
21)andasecondgroupcomprisedofthepostsoftheotherfournetworkstations:Fox
(25,827.95,
n
=37),ABC(33,195.36,
n
=42),CBS(37,062.05,
n
=40),andNBC(41,804.08,
n
=38),usingTukeybposthoccomparison(
p
<.05).RQ2thusrevealedsomedifferencewith
regardtonetworkaffiliation(seeTable6).
Thethirdresearchquestionconcernedtheinfluenceofmarketsizeandnetwork
affiliation(i.e.,stationcharacteristics)onstationconnectivityasmeasuredbymobileapps,RSS
feeds,andalerts.TwoANOVAtestsrevealedsignificantdifferences.Formarketsize,Tukeyb
posthoccomparisons(
p
<.05)showedthattop50stationsscored2.28(outofthe3tools)while
smallerstationsscoredlower:second50DMAscored1.83andmarketsbelowthetop100
2
scored1.51(
F
(2,174)=7.79,
p
=.001,
=.08).SeeTable7.UsingTVhouseholdsinsteadof
groups,Pearsons
r
confirmedthefinding,correlatingexactsizeofmarketwithuseof
connectivitytools(
r
=.22,
p
=.003).NetworkaffiliationbyANOVA(
F
(4,172)=6.63,
p
=
2
.0001,
=.13)clearlyidentifiedCWaffiliates(0.91)standingaloneinthelowgroupandNBC
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
18
affiliates(2.29)inthehighgroupintheposthoctests,butthemiddlegroupshowedsome
Tukeyboverlap(Fox1.57)comparedwithABC(1.86)andCBS(2.00),withABCandCBS
bothappearinginthehighandmiddlegroupings.Nevertheless,networkaffiliationmattered.See
Table8.
Researchquestionfouraddresseddifferencesrelatedtothesamestationcharacteristics,
butwithregardtoinvitedcontributions.Allthevariableswerenominal,sotwochisquare
2
crosstabulationswereused.Inthefirstcrosstab,marketsize(
(2,
N
=178)=6.82,
p
=.03)
showeddifferenceswith74.0percentoftop50marketssolicitingcontributionsfromviewers,
followedby56.5percentofsecond50marketsand51.2percentofDMAbelow100.Inthe
2
secondcrosstab,networkaffiliation(
(4,
N
=178)=14.24,
p
=.01)showeddifferenceswith
76.0percentofNBCstationssolicitingcontributionsfromviewers.followedby65.0percentof
CBSstations,61.9percentforABCaffiliates,47.2percentofFoxstations,and31.8percentof
CWaffiliates.Forallstationscombined,59percentinvitedviewercontributions.
Discussion
Nationaltelevisionnetworksaswellaslocaltelevisionstationsareexperiencingchanges
thatrangefromprogrammingdistributionmethodstoshiftsinaudiences.Astheaverageageof
televisionviewersincreases(Kang,2014),animportantissueishowwellboththeindustryand
localstationsaredealingwithchanges,includingcultivatingrelationshipswithyoungeraudience
memberswhorelyheavilyonsocialnetworks(Nielsen,2014)andmobiledevices(Mobile
technology,2014).ThisstudyfocusedontheextenttowhichlocalTVstationsareusingtop
socialmediaplatforms,mobiletechnologyandotherdigitaltoolstoconnectwithGenerationC.
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
19
Themajorfindingofthisstudyisthattelevisionstationshaveagrowingrepertoireof
socialmediaandotherconnectivitytoolswithwhichtoengagetheirviewers,butthatstationsin
largermarketsaremakingfulleruseofinteractivetechnologies.Thefindingofsignificant
differencesaccordingtomarketsizeintheimplementationofthesetoolsalsosupportsRogers
(1995)notionthatlargerorganizationsevidencemoreinnovativeness.AlthoughRogersfocused
onorganizationalsize,thereisaconnectedbetweenmarketandstationsizes,particularly
regardingresources.
Smallermarketstationssometimesfeelataneconomicdisadvantagecomparedtolarger
affiliates,especiallywithregardtostateoftheartequipmentandhighpricedtalent.Butopting
tooffercontentonsocialmediaisessentialfree.Insomeoftheverysmallmarketsweobserved,
thosewithsmallstaffsandminimalbudgets,theuseofFacebookandTwitterwassubstantial,
evenspreadingtoInstagram(youngeraudiences)andPinterest(femaleviewers).Encouraging
viewerstosendphotosorvideotothelocalnewsproducersisanactivitythantranscends
economicresources,yetitwasmostlylargemarketstationsthatengagedinsuchoutreachtothe
massaudience.
Networkaffiliationwasalsoadifferentiatingcharacteristicofstationswithregardto
socialmediause,confirmingpreviousresearch(Kiernan&Levy,1999).CWaffiliateswerefar
lesslikelytocourtviewerswithsocialmediaandotherinteractivefeatures.Itmightbeargued
thatCWstationsareweaksisteroperations,especiallywithregardtolocalnewsprogramming.
Competitionamongstationsinamarketwasnotfoundtobeaninfluenceonsocialmedia
use,confirmingKiernan&Levy(1999),butdisconfirmingLacy,Atwater,Qin&Powers(1988).
Thekeydifferenceinthosetwostudiesperhapscentereduponwheretherewasadifficult
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
20
economicchoice:Asnotedabove,usingwebsites(andsocialmedia)isnotaspricedrivenas
purchasingsatellitenewsgatheringequipment.Itmightalsobeanissueofwhetherthestation
dedicatespersonneltosocialmedia.Furtherstudyiswarrantedtodeterminetheinfluenceof
intramarketcompetition.
Opportunitiesforaudienceparticipationwasalsoaconcerninthisstudy.Aswithother
comparisons,thetopmarketshadthemostincidentsofopportunitiestoparticipatethroughsuch
meansascontributingnewsstoryideasorpostingphotosandvideos.Thisfindingis
commensuratewithpriorresearchaboutTwitter,whichfoundthatlargemarketstationswere
morelikelytoinviteinteractionoffollowers(Greer&Ferguson,2011).Regardingnetwork
affiliation,thehighestnumberofstationsthatofferedopportunitiestocontributewereassociated
withNBC.
MembersofGenerationCaredefinedbycharacteristicssuchasadesiretocontribute
content,creativity,connectivityandcomputeruse(seee.g.,GenerationC,2004Friedrich,
Peterson,&Koster,2011).TheanalysisinthisstudyexaminedTVstationsdigitalofferings
associatedwithconnected,content/controlandcommunity.Nearlytwothirdsofthestations
offeredmobileapps.Almost60%ofstationsprovidedRSSfeedsandaround56%offeredalerts
ofvarioustypes.Thisfindingiscrucialforstations,giventheimportanceGeneration
C/millennialsplaceontheirsmartphonesforcommunication(Mobiletechnology,2014Solis,
2013),includingtheuseofmobiledevicestochecknews(Edmonds,2015).Regarding
content/control,nearly59%ofstationsprovidedopportunitiestocontributecontent.
Astudyin2015foundthatFacebook,YouTubeandInstagramwerethetopthreesocial
mediasourceswheremillennialsgetnews(Howmillennialsgetnews,2015).TVstationsin
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
21
thepresentstudyalsoevidencedasenseofcommunitybuildingthroughsocialmedia,primarily
Facebook.AlargepercentageofstationsalsohadaTwitteraccount.However,therewaslittle
useofInstagramandarelativelysmallnumberofstationpostsonthatsocialmedium.Infact,
only68ofthestationshadanInstagramaccount.Givenitspopularityamong1834yearolds
(Guimares,2014),itseemsthatstationswouldbemoreactiveintheuseofInstagram.In
addition,forstationswithYouTubeaccounts,therewasalargenumberofviewsoverall,buta
smallsubscriberbase.Thismightindicatethat,whilepeopleareaccessingastationsvideo
contentthroughYouTube,theyarenotconnectingassubscribers.Becausethisstudyexamined
onlynumbersofviewsandsubscribers,resultscannotbeassociatedwithaparticularagegroup.
FutureresearchshouldseektoprovidedetailsaboutviewershipofTVstationYouTubesites.
Thisstudydidnotinterviewstationpersonneltoascertainthemotivestoengagewith
theirviewers.Futureresearchshouldsurveypromotionmanagersregardingtheiruseoffree
mediatopromotestationprogrammingandnewstalent.Anotherfutureapproachwouldbeto
measureviewersselfreportedpreferencesforsocialmediacontentandmobileapps
downloadedfromlocalstations.ItwouldbeinterestingtocomparethehabitsofGenerationCto
moretraditionalviewers.
AnumberofotherobservationssurfacedthatarepertinentfortheTVindustryingeneral
andlocaltelevisionstationsinparticular.First,somestationsutilizedawidearrayoftoolsto
connectwiththeiraudiences,includingsocialmediaandmobiletechnologies.However,findings
aremixedwhenitcomestoprovidingfeaturesthatmatchthecharacteristicsofGenerationC.As
theTVnewsaudienceages,itisimperativethatstationsfindwaystoincorporatedigital
technologiesintotheircommunicationrepertoireinanefforttocourtyoungersegmentsoftheir
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
22
markets.Justhavingcontent,however,willnotaccomplishthatobjective.Rather,stationsalso
needtoencourageinteractionthroughusergeneratedcontentandsharingtoaddvaluetolocal
newsandinformation.
Second,somestationsaretakingadvantageoftechnology,whileothersareslowtoadopt
somefeaturesdiscussedinthisstudy.Itiscrucialthatstationschangetheiroperationalmodelto
onethatincorporatesdiversetools,rangingfromsocialtomobiletoparticipatory,especiallyto
encouragethedevelopmentofcommunityversuspassivefollowers.Thiscouldincludetailoring
contenttoGenerationC.ItalsomeansprovidingnewsandinformationviaYouTubeto
capitalizeonthedesireforviewingflexibilityandtimeshifting(Pallota,2014).Inaddition,
stationsneedtobeflexibleandcreativeinfindingwaystoimplementtheemergenceofnew
socialmediaplatforms.
Wefounditoddthatstationswouldmakeanefforttoreachspecializedaudienceson
Instagram,PinterestandYouTube,butoftenneglecttodisplayaniconforthosevenues
alongsidetheubiquitouslogosforFacebookandTwitter.Veryyoungviewersmightbemore
inclinedtofollowstationsonInstagramthanFacebook,becausetheyseethelatterastoomuch
inthemainstream.In2015,somestationsstartedtoconsiderlesserknownsocialmediatools
likeSnapchatbecauseofyouthappeal(Marszalek,2015).Futureresearchshouldexaminethat
allegedtrend.
Somelimitationsshouldbenotedregardingthisstudy.Duetoitsfocusoncontent
analysis,thisstudyonlyexaminedobservablenumbersofpostings,followers,views,and
subscribers.Itdidnotanalyzetypesofcontent.Futureresearchshouldcomparethetypesof
newsthisagegroupaccesseswiththecontentthatstationsprovideviasocialmedia.Second,
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
23
giventhenatureofthisstudy,findingscannotbeassociatedwiththeextenttowhichyounger
audiencesareengagedinTVstationuseoftechnologies.Thatisalsoisatopicforfuture
research.Finally,asnotedearlier,thisstudyfocusedonstationusesofdigitaltoolsand,
therefore,doesnotincludeananalysisofstationoperations.
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
24
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31
Table1
Descriptivesummaryofcontinuousmeasures
__________________________________________________________________________
Variable
StdDev
Facebooklikes
169
264
3,754,024
117,772.88
307,202.17
Stationtweets
161
27
119,000
34,049.07
27,466.83
Twitterfollowers
161
42
724,000
28,169.88
62,201.86
Instagramposts
68
1,451
399.01
379.48
Instagramfollowers
68
43,114
2,100.51
5,488.53
Pinterestpins
72
12,995
791.53
1,774.48
Pinterestfollowers
72
2,527
466.13
507.71
YouTubeviews
100
77
76,803,609
YouTubesubscribers
100
26,291
1,265.67
3,555.57
Google+views
102
12,479,021
462,007.25
1,520,652.81
Google+followers
100
441,412
12,569.41
64,130.01
a
Stationposts
178
119,000
31,259.26
28,293.90
b
Stationviews
178
81,623,240
2,297,171.67
9,426,522.36
c
Implementation
179
3.70
1.71
d
Mobiletools
177
1.81
1.13
TotalTVHH
180
16,580
3,477,250
597,440.56
718,039.74
3,617,718.18 11,936,875.42
_______________________________________________________________________
a
sumoftweets,posts,pins
b
sumofYouTubeandGoogle+views
c
sumofdichotomoususeofFacebook,Twitter,Instagram,Pinterest,YouTube,Google+
d
sumofdichotomousvariablesmobileapps,RSSfeeds.email/textalerts(seeTable2)
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
32
Table2
Frequenciesofdichotomousvariables
Label
Value
Frequency Percent
Mobileapps
No
65
36.52
Yes
113
63.48
Total
178
100.00
Missing
RSSfeeds
No
71
40.11
Yes
106
59.89
Total
177
100.00
Missing
Alerts
No
77
43.26
Yes
101
56.74
Total
178
100.00
Missing
Invitedcontributions No
73
41.01
Yes
105
58.99
Total
178
100.00
Missing
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
33
Table3
(H1)
Onewayanalysisoftheimplementationofsocialtoolsbymarketsize
______________________________________________________________________________
Source
df
SS
MS
______________________________________________________________________________
Betweengroups
47.47
Withingroups
176
475.84
Total
178
1523.31
9.07
8.78
.00
.03
2.22
______________________________________________________________________________
TukeyB
posthoccomparison
Subsetforalpha=0.05
MarketSize
Belowtop100
83
3.17
2nd50markets
46
3.98
Top50markets
50
4.34
____________________________________________________________________________
Note
.Meansforgroupsinhomogeneoussubsetsaredisplayed.
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
34
Table4
(RQ1)
Onewayanalysisoftheimplementationofsocialtoolsbynetworkaffiliation
______________________________________________________________________________
Source
df
SS
MS
______________________________________________________________________________
Betweengroups
47.47
Withingroups
174
460.02
Total
178
523.31
15.82
5.98
.00
.09
2.64
______________________________________________________________________________
TukeyB
posthoccomparisons
______________________________________________________________________________
Subsetforalpha=0.05
Network
CW
23
2.39
Fox
37
3.32
ABC
41
3.90
NBC
38
4.16
CBS
40
4.18
____________________________________________________________________________
Note
.Meansforgroupsinhomogeneoussubsetsaredisplayed.
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
35
Table5
(RQ2)
Onewayanalysisofpostinga
bymarketsize
______________________________________________________________________________
Source
df
SS
MS
______________________________________________________________________________
Betweengroups
32,800,000,000 16,400,000,000
Withingroups
175
108,900,000,000
Total
177
141,700,000,000
26.36
.00
.23
622,200,000
______________________________________________________________________________
a
Postingwasthesumoftweets,Instagramposts,andpins
TukeyB
posthoccomparison
Subsetforalpha=0.05
MarketSize
Belowtop100
82
17,213
2nd50markets
47
37,622
Top50markets
49
48,442
____________________________________________________________________________
Note
.Meansforgroupsinhomogeneoussubsetsaredisplayed.
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
36
Table6
(RQ2)
Onewayanalysisofpostinga
bynetworkaffiliation
______________________________________________________________________________
Source
df
SS
MS
______________________________________________________________________________
Betweengroups
19,360,000,000 4,840,000,000
Withingroups
173 122,300,000,000
Total
177 141,700,000,000
6.85
.00
.14
707,100,000
______________________________________________________________________________
TukeyB
posthoccomparisons
______________________________________________________________________________
Subsetforalpha=0.05
Network
CW
21
6822.48
Fox
37
25,827.95
ABC
42
33,195.36
NBC
40
37,062.05
NBC
38
41,804.08
____________________________________________________________________________
Note
.Meansforgroupsinhomogeneoussubsetsaredisplayed.
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
37
Table7
(RQ3)
Onewayanalysisofstationconnectivitya
bymarketsize
______________________________________________________________________________
Source
df
SS
MS
______________________________________________________________________________
Betweengroups
18.53
Withingroups
174
206.94
Total
176
225.47
9.27
7.79
.001
.08
1.19
______________________________________________________________________________
a
Connectivitywasthesumofmobileapps,RSSfeedsandalerts
TukeyB
posthoccomparison
Subsetforalpha=0.05
MarketSize
Belowtop100
81
1.51
2nd50markets
46
1.83
Top50markets
50
2.28
_________________________________________________________________
Note
.Meansforgroupsinhomogeneoussubsetsaredisplayed.
TVSTATIONSCONNECTWITHGENERATIONC
38
Table8
(RQ3)
Onewayanalysisofstationconnectivitya
bynetworkaffiliation
______________________________________________________________________________
Source
df
SS
MS
______________________________________________________________________________
Betweengroups
30.12
7.53
Withingroups
172
195.35
Total
176
225.47
6.63
.00
.13
1.14
______________________________________________________________________________
a
Connectivitywasthesumofmobileapps,RSSfeedsandalerts
TukeyB
posthoccomparisons
______________________________________________________________________________
Subsetforalpha=0.05
Network
CW
22
0.91
Fox
35
1.57
ABC
42
1.86
1.86
CBS
40
2.00
2.00
NBC
38
2.29
____________________________________________________________________________
Note
.Meansforgroupsinhomogeneoussubsetsaredisplayed.