Study: 2020 Super Tuesday Voters Media Usage Released

Today, the Television Bureau of Advertising released research conducted on eligible voters for state primaries in California, Colorado and North Carolina ahead of Super Tuesday, to gain an understanding of what media platforms may have the most influence on them.

"An estimated $6.5 billion is to be spent by campaigns in the 2020 presidential election year," says TVB President and CEO Steve Lanzano. "This study demonstrates why political decision makers buy local TV advertising. When eligible voters in California, Colorado and North Carolina all find the problem with ‘fake news’ to be most prevalent on social media, while local broadcast TV news is the most trusted, it’s hard to deny the influence local broadcast TV has over voters."

The survey, conducted among eligible primary voters in CA, CO and NC and administered by Dynata, finds that:

• Local broadcast TV news is more trusted than news on cable TV, radio, and social media in California (83%), Colorado (81%) and North Carolina (89%).
• Registered voters find fake news to be most prevalent on social media in California (68%), Colorado (74%) and North Carolina (74%).
• Television has the highest reach of any ad-supported platform in California (88%), Colorado (88%) and North Carolina (89%).

Key findings in demographics, by state, were:

• In California, broadcast TV is the primary source of news and has the highest reach among Hispanic adults 18+.
• In Colorado, suburban and rural women 18+ trust local broadcast TV news far more than news on cable TV, radio, and social media.
• In North Carolina, broadcast TV has the highest reach among African Americans and African American women 18+.

Lanzano noted, "As an ongoing study, we will continue to go into early primary and caucus states to study what platforms and mediums voters trust most."

In January 2020, TVB commissioned Dynata to conduct a study of eligible registered voters in 3 primary states to gain an understanding of media usage, and attitudes toward traditional and digital platforms. 2,685 respondents were surveyed and to qualify, each respondent had to be a registered voter and had to have been exposed to any of over 20 media (traditional or digital) in the prior 24-hour period. They did not need to have used a television to be included in this survey.

For more information, visit the 2020 Voters Media Usage Study page.