Glance survey revals young-adult trends

MIPCOM: Young adults want to be thrilled, see themselves onscreen and also watch shows that address serious issues, especially the environment, according to new audience research released today.

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Mediametrie’s Glance (formerly known as Eurodata TV) researched young adults to find out what they are watching and to help broadcasters predict upcoming trends.

Its Young Adults report analysed access and primetime broadcasts on the six main channels for the young-adult market in 10 key territories: Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, UK and the US.

Young adults, generally in the 15-34 age bracket, are looking for meaningful content that reveals life’s answers.

They are also looking for relatable content, such as UK network ITV2’s Shopping with Keith Lemon, in which the host tags along with celebrities as they do their everyday shopping. This appeals to millennials because it shows an authentic and relatable side to the celebs, according to the findings.

People in this demo also love being scared and entertained. Suspenseful and violent shows did well in the research, such as Quicksand on Netflix in Sweden and South Korean net TVNs’ Hotel del Luna, a dramedy whose protagonists are ghosts.

But entertainment stood out in the research because it is the genre that is simultaneously the least aired and the most watched by young adults.

Entertainmental content outshone fiction and factual, accounting for an average of 38% of the TV programming watched by millennials in the same 10 countries.

Millennials’ interest in all things environmental is shown by the fact they readily consume series about the issue across all genres, whether factual, news, entertainment or scripted.

“Three major trends emerge at the start of the season in terms of the programming that appeals to young adults in particular,” said Avril Blondelot, Glance’s content insight director.

“The first trend relates to programmes that are about young adults and which reflect their reality in an authentic manner. The second trend encompasses programmes that move at a high pace and keep young adults in suspense.

“The third trend features just causes – as seen by young people – of which the biggest of our time is environmentalism. Comedy and entertainment genres continue to do very well also.”