How often you turn on the TV to watch a scheduled program depends largely on your age. If you are a millennial (born between 1981 and 1996) or Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012), you probably don’t think about television in the traditional way at all.

Data from the Market Research Foundation’s MAPS survey shows that the number of respondents who turned on a TV in the past week has fallen from 72 percent in 2021 to 54 percent in 2023. While power outages may explain some of that decline, they’re not the only reason TVs are being ditched.

For Gen Z and Millennials, there are better, easier and more efficient ways to consume content. According to Leslie Adams, Sales Director of Reach Africa, being tied to a TV guide is perhaps the least attractive channel.

“Gone are the days when the household planned the day around watching a show that aired at a certain time – Gen Z has never really known this reality, having grown up in a world driven by the internet,” says Adams.

“They don’t wait until 7pm to watch the news or grab the morning papers – they scan a news site right away if they want to know something. And those who do it right understand this – most new Disney releases now happen on the Disney+ app at the same time as they hit theatres, for example,” the director says.

While streaming is a growing market in South Africa (15 percent of respondents had access to streaming services in 2021, growing by three percentage points in 2023), social media is the real villain of TV. MAPS data reveals that 8 million South Africans have access to streaming services, but 11 million locals use TikTok. While Facebook (25 million) and WhatsApp (28 million) outpace TikTok, usage of the platform is only growing.

And with that, the desire to own a television and watch public channels.

“This generation grew up in the most optimistic period in South Africa’s history; they were born after apartheid, the beloved Nelson Mandela was president and South Africa had just won the Rugby World Cup. These were South Africa’s golden years; a time of joy, consolidation and celebration. They saw a recession, state capture, a pandemic, several wars, the cost of living and a whole host of other challenges. They know real depression,” says Adams.

“They’ve seen how easy it is to lose everything you’ve worked hard for. And so they prioritize happiness and experiences over stability. They may not prioritize owning property; they may prefer to rent and spend their money on something that brings them status and joy. now“They want experiences over luxuries; satisfaction over stability; they believe there are many ways – not just one way,” they continue.

We’re not sure how much of an impact this has on TV viewing, but we have to agree with Adams on this one, because we don’t like this statement and it’s a mockery of the boomer, as the kids would say.

The idea of ​​owning real estate and spending money on luxury items is laughable when the price of basic items becomes disgustingly high. Gen Z and Millennials aren’t choosing not to own real estate, real estate is just too expensive to afford. Gen Z and Millennials aren’t choosing experiences over luxuries, we’re choosing experiences because it’s the only affordable option when we leave the house.

As for status, status makes money, which explains why Hawk Tuah Girl is capitalizing on her viral success.

It makes sense then that us youngsters aren’t exactly eager to go home and watch the latest soap opera because the drama of the real world is just too much to bear. Why do we watch the news when Elon’s X is feeding us uncensored war footage all day long? The reason Gen Z and Millennials don’t watch TV isn’t that profound, if anyone would even think to ask us.

As for viewing content, free is the name of the game with Adams highlighting free streaming platforms like Viu, but again we disagree with that assessment. With the deep knowledge of the internet that Gen Z and Millennials have, do you really think they can’t just pirate content? Sure, free platforms are great, but their success largely depends on the content they offer. The SABC has a free streaming platform, is it struggling with mass logins? We highly doubt it.

MAPS data shows that DStv beats all SABC channels, eTV, Netflix and Showmax in streaming and traditional viewing, disproving the claim that free is the future.

What matters to us youngsters is convenience, something that few streaming services seem to understand. That means ads that interrupt your viewing are bad, complicated user interfaces are bad, restrictions on account sharing are bad, and so on. We could go on, but we won’t, because as we said, housing is expensive and we’ve seen what consultants get paid.

Streaming may be a big market, but it risks losing itself if it tries to replace TV. As that MAPS data shows, TV is dying, and trying to emulate it is a fool’s errand. Likewise, trying to apply paid TV techniques to streaming will only lead to disaster and massive losses as streaming fatigue worsens.

It’s time for businesses to take Gen Z and Millennials seriously as an economic demographic. Baby Boomers are getting smaller, and serving them is going to be a bad thing. We’re not saying “relaunch Quibi,” but we are saying that ignoring the habits, wants, and needs of the younger generation will only push us toward services and platforms that do cater to us.