College Kids Give Passing Grade to Live TV: Comcast

Live TV lives on campus.

According to data gathered by Comcast through its Xfinity on Campus service, students spend more time watching live when they’re watching TV.

The viewing data from January through June 2018 showed that 44% of total video consumption was live, followed by video on demand at 37% and content recorded on a DVR at 19%.

The college students majored in TV on Sunday and Thursdays--those were the days they watched the most TV. They watched the least on Saturdays.

Primetime for college kids was 7 to 9 p.m., which was the most popular viewing time across all days of the week.

Sports dominated the list of 10 most-watched programs among Xfinity on Campus viewers, with the NBA and NFL playoffs, the Winter Olympics, the Super Bowl and the NCAA basketball tournament drawing kids away from the library.

The most popular live programs in the first half of 2018 were This is Us, Grey’s Anatomy, The Bachelor, Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, Riverdale, The Good Doctor, Keeping up with the Kardashians, grown-ish, Modern Family and Law & Order: SVU.

“Tens of thousands of students use Xfinity on Campus every day to watch TV and that’s enabled us to identify some interesting viewing trends, like the significant portion of live programming college students are watching, including sports, scripted drama and reality TV,” said Mike Gatzke, VP, video subscription services, Comcast Cable. “Xfinity on Campus is helping us learn a lot about what, how and when students watch, and ultimately enabling us to further enhance and improve our service to offer them the best entertainment experience across devices, anywhere on campus.”

Xfinity On Campus offers more than 100 live channels, including every major broadcast network. The service is included with room and board for students living in on-campus housing at more than 130 schools. 

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.