During the third quarter, The Great Food Truck Race was not starved for attention.
According to research company TVision Insights, the Food Network show was cable’s most engaging primetime program.
TVision Insights uses computer vision technology to measure what viewers’ eyes are looking at to derive an Attention Index and The Great Food Truck Race’s 173.5 was the highest of all series.
The next two highest Attention Indices were achieved by The History of Comedy on CNN and Posed on FX.
Related: 'Killing Eve' Drew Most Viewer Attention in 2Q, TVision Insights
The most engaging show on broadcast was NBC’s Running Wild with Bear Grylls with a 153. It was followed by The 100 on the CW and the premiere of Single Parents on ABC.
TVision notes that cable shows tend to have higher attention scores that broadcast shows because of cable’s dedicated, plugged in audiences.
Some special events also drew viewers’ attention, including the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular on NBC, the Emmy Awards on NBC and the Miss America Competition on ABC.
Among networks, the CW had the highest Attention Index, followed by CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox.
In the report, Luke McGuinness president and COO of TVision, called out a few observations about trends in the third quarter.
McGuinness noted that attention varies by demographics: Different demographic audiences engage with TV content in different ways. ”For a T-Mobile commercial we analyzed, women paid 23% more attention than men,” he said in the report.
Creative elements can dramatically impact attention, McGuinness said. “Our second-by-second attention analysis hones in on the key moments that cause viewers to either perk up or tune out. In a Discover Card ad analyzed, our data showed a huge peak during a particularly exciting (and stressful) moment.
When used correctly, attention data is a powerful retargeting tool, McGuinness said. The Bachelorette offers advertisers one of the most desirable audiences in television. TVision’s analysis found Bachelorette viewers also tended to watch The Bachelor on ABC, The Voice on NBC, America’s Got Talent on NBC, The Proposal on ABC and American Idol, also on ABC. “Knowing where its viewers consumed television beyond the hit show allows brands to reach such a coveted audience, even after the final rose,” he said.
TVision also found that relevant sponsorships drive greater engagement: Sponsors of the MLB All-Star Game and Home Run Derby didn’t just get a quality audience — they also received above-average attention during commercial breaks.
“We found that All-Star Game and Home Run Derby viewers paid 32% more attention to ads for the weekend’s official sponsors — including Mastercard, T-Mobile, Chevrolet and Lincoln — than to other brands that simply advertised during the Events,” McGuinness said. “In addition, the official pre-game sponsor of the All-Star Game, Lincoln, received a 43% attention bump as compared to the same ads it ran during regular season games.
