Broadcast television came to Southeast Michigan in 1946 when WWDT-TV (now WDIV-TV) signed on for the first time. In those days, only about 0.5% of local households actually owned a set, a number that would grow 100-fold by the mid-1950s.

At first, Detroit consumers needed rabbit-ears or outdoor antennas to receive signals from a small handful of local stations, including  WXYZ and WJBK. The quality of reception varied day-to-day.

By the early 1960s, however, local cable systems began to bring higher-quality, reliable reception to households throughout the Detroit area. The number of programming options, though, remained limited to affiliates of ABC, NBC, and CBS.

In 1972, viewing options began to expand as local cable began offering Detroit area consumers the opportunity to purchase premium services, including HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax.  Five years later came an explosion of non-premium cable channels such as TBS and CNN.

In the early 1990s, Detroit viewers could not only receive their television programming over-the-air or by cable, but options expanded to include satellite delivery by DishTV and DirectTV.

The next TV innovation came in 2007 as Detroit consumers started turning to the internet to watch streaming channels like Netflix and Hulu.  These new services allowed viewers to watch TV on their phones, computers, and tablets as well as their living room LCD and Plasma screens.

Today, all of this video technology offers viewers the ultimate flexibility to choose how, when, and where to watch TV.  So, what are they watching?

According to Nielsen, 3.3 million adults in the Detroit area have access to the internet, equivalent to 94.4% of the population. On average, local consumers are spending 10.19 hours per week online.

Detroit millennials, the first generation that grew up in a digital world, spend considerably more time online. Nielsen reports that, on average, Detroit's 25-39-year-old consumers are clocking 12.65 hours connected to the internet.

So, how are Detroit consumers spending their time online?

According to Nielsen, streaming audio and video content, social networking, checking the weather, and banking are the top online activities for Detroit consumers each month.

Each week, according to Nielsen, 62.5% of Southeast Michigan consumers watch video programs that aren't delivered over-the-air by local TV stations.  They aren't coming from a local cable company or by satellite.  Instead, these programs are being streamed directly to viewers via an internet connection.

This type of streamed video content is called OTT (Over-The-Top-Television) or CTV (Connected-Television). These two terms are sometimes are often used interchangeably but do have a subtle difference.

OTT generally means the video is watched on a small device like a computer, tablet, or smartphone.  CTV, on the other hand, typically means the content is viewed on a smart-TV or a regular television using a streaming device like a Roku or Amazon stick.

In Metro Detroit, OTT/CTV has exceeded the weekly reach of local newspapers and streaming audio services such as Pandora and Spotify. The medium is rapidly approaching the reach of local cable and broadcast TV stations.

Southeast Michigan business owners are expected to invest $964-million during 2021 to advertise to consumers connected to the internet. This forecast was produced by Borrell Associates, a company that tracks business advertising expenditures across the country.

These online marketing dollars will be spent on banner advertising, search engine marketing, email, as well as audio and video advertising. This is all to capture the attention of shoppers and buyers as they go about their connected days.

According to Nielsen, 92.9% of adult consumers in the Detroit area have access to the internet. They connect, primarily, with desktop and laptop computers; smartphones; or tablets.

Ninety-six percent of Detroit adults spend at least one hour per week online, with most spending at least 10 hours connected.

Almost 93% of Southeast Michigan adults have access to the internet, according to Nielsen. Over 63% of these consumers spend more than five hours a week connected.

Nielsen reports that Metro Detroit consumers go online to stay connected to friends and family; research products and services; learn the latest news, and obtain directions to where they are going and know what the weather will be when they get there.  

Here are some of the many reasons why Detroit internet users go online each month

• Social Media: 75%
• Online Banking: 50%
• Weather: 47%
• Maps/Directions: 45%
• Product Reviews: 37%
• Current Events: 33%
• Sports Scores/News: 27%
• Restaurant Reviews:30%
• Job Search: 16%
• Real Estate: 14%

And, of course, there is shopping.  Over the past six months, according to Nielsen, 78% of Detroit area consumers shopped online for every imaginable product and service including, cars, golf clubs, office supplies, wedding rings, mattresses, tires, medicine, shoes, socks, and eyeglasses.

To reach local consumers while they are online, Southeast Michigan businesses will spend $992,000 for digital advertising in 2020, according to Borrell Associates.  Here is how the money is being spent:

Before we explain AVOD, it is important to understand SVOD.

Southeast Michigan small business owners may not be familiar with SVOD, but chances are they let it into their homes and onto their phones.

SVOD is the abbreviation for Subscription Video On Demand. That is the collective name for streaming networks like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and Amazon Prime.  For a monthly fee, these services provide commercial-free access to TV shows, original content, and movies.

These SVOD networks are delivered to viewers' phones, tablets, computers, and smart-TVs via the internet and not over-the-air or cable systems.

SVOD makes up a significant part of what advertisers refer to as OTT (Over-The-Top-Television) and CTV (Connected-Television). OTT/CTV is video-programming content that viewers can only watch on smartphones, tablets, computers, smart-TVs, Amazon Firesticks, and Roku Sticks.  Nielsen reports that 91.5% of Metro Detroit adults own at least one of these devices.

Advertising on Detroit television and cable is becoming less attractive to local business owners as viewers rapidly defect to alternative video entertainment sources including, Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Amazon and Disney+.

Collectively these streaming services are referred to as Over-The-Top Television (OTT) and Connected-TV (CTV). Viewers can only access this OTT and CTV content via smartphone, tablets, computers, smart-TVs, Amazon Fire Sticks, and Roku Sticks, Nielsen reports that 91.5% of Southeast Michigan adults own at least one these devices. Furthermore, they are using them.

According to Nielsen, OTT and CTV networks now reach 40.2% of all Metro Detroit consumers every week.