[81alum]

TV viewership has indeed declined among young people and appears like it will continue to, but 81alum's point is vastly exaggerated. A majority of young people still watch TV (I think the percent was low 60s and the average per day was an hour and forty five minutes last I saw). Moreover, much of the shift away from traditional TV has been toward digital devices and streaming. If somebody is going to watch sports on their phone rather than on a TV set, that's still relevant to advertisers and business models. I don't dispute major generational changes afoot but it's more complicated than "no young people watch TV." Many still do, and many who don't watch stuff on their phones.

Of course you are right that some young people still watch TV.  Or at least they have it on in the background.  I just don't know any, including my students, my children, or my neighbor's kids.  It is probably a demographic issue--similar to the decline in driving among affluent youth.  I'm observing college kids, college educated young adults, young techies etc.  And I am observing young people in the Bay Area.  These are of course demographics that most advertisers would love.

However, this article says Gen Z streams 77% to TV at 15%.  (I'd love to see a comparison of young people who stream live athletic events vs. young people who stream e-sports.  I bet it would shock many oldsters.)
https://www.insiderintelligence.com/cont...s-cable-tv

And this one predicts TV will die and be replaced by the metaverse, which is more or less what I was suggesting:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/...-warn.html

And this one says young people watch 1/2 as much live TV as older people:
https://www.prweek.com/article/1324176/y...ng-live-tv

So, while I admit to the statistical fallacy of assuming my experiences with young people were typical of ALL young people, I don't think I was far off the mark.  And if I was, my guess is that it will just mean that the collapse of TV will come a bit later rather than a bit sooner.

[81alum]

TV viewership has indeed declined among young people and appears like it will continue to, but 81alum's point is vastly exaggerated. A majority of young people still watch TV (I think the percent was low 60s and the average per day was an hour and forty five minutes last I saw). Moreover, much of the shift away from traditional TV has been toward digital devices and streaming. If somebody is going to watch sports on their phone rather than on a TV set, that's still relevant to advertisers and business models. I don't dispute major generational changes afoot but it's more complicated than "no young people watch TV." Many still do, and many who don't watch stuff on their phones.

Of course you are right that some young people still watch TV.  Or at least they have it on in the background.  I just don't know any, including my students, my children, or my neighbor's kids.  It is probably a demographic issue--similar to the decline in driving among affluent youth.  I'm observing college kids, college educated young adults, young techies etc.  And I am observing young people in the Bay Area.  These are of course demographics that most advertisers would love.

However, this article says Gen Z streams 77% to TV at 15%.  (I'd love to see a comparison of young people who stream live athletic events vs. young people who stream e-sports.  I bet it would shock many oldsters.)
https://www.insiderintelligence.com/cont...s-cable-tv

And this one predicts TV will die and be replaced by the metaverse, which is more or less what I was suggesting:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/...-warn.html

And this one says young people watch 1/2 as much live TV as older people:
https://www.prweek.com/article/1324176/y...ng-live-tv

So, while I admit to the statistical fallacy of assuming my experiences with young people were typical of ALL young people, I don't think I was far off the mark.  And if I was, my guess is that it will just mean that the collapse of TV will come a bit later rather than a bit sooner.