When Jaime Spencer took the stage at TVNewsCheck‘s Programming Everywhere conference at NAB Show last week, he opened with a data point that reframes the competitive map for every broadcaster, publisher and podcaster in the room: the average American now consumes more than 13 hours of media per day.
That figure, drawn from multiple behavioral measurement sources, is not a growth indicator. It is, in Spencer’s framing, a hard ceiling — and understanding what it means strategically may be among the most pressing assignments facing media executives in 2026.
“There’s not really much room to grow the amount of time the consumer spends with media,” said Spencer, COO of Magid, the research and consulting firm. “We are trading within that group. In order for us to grow, in order to find audience, there’s not a ‘hey, we can add this new piece on.’”
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here