According to Nielsen data, the high volume of viewing overall increased streaming’s proportion of TV to 38.7%, setting a new record. Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and YouTube all reached record highs.

At 20% of TV viewing for the month, total broadcast viewing was down 3.6% overall, setting a record low. The use of broadcasts decreased by 5.4% on a yearly basis, the survey found.

In July, cable viewership declined as well, dropping a full percentage point to 29.6% of all TV viewing.

Less than 50% of all TV viewing today comes through linear TV.

According to the survey, “watching among those under the age of 18 grew 4%, and viewing among individuals 18 and over declined 0.3%, even if overall TV consumption was up just slightly from June (0.2%).”

These developments led to a rise in streaming and “other” consumption, especially because of gaming consoles.

Comparatively, sports on broadcast generated about 25 billion viewing minutes in July in the US, despite airing on numerous channels.

Fall’s arrival will probably bring a change in TV viewing habits, especially with the start of a new NFL season.

For instance, sports accounted for 150 billion viewing minutes on broadcast in November 2022.

According to the research, “Broadcast and cable may face a unique position this fall with the prospect for less fresh original primetime material, but the recent success of purchased programming on streaming channels underscores the outsized strength of exceptional content, regardless of when it was made.”

“Linear TV [is] past the point of no return,” Macquarie analyst Tim Nollen wrote in a note to clients, adding that the revenue line for cable and satellite operators is “probably permanently negative” as pricing fails to drive upside while TV advertising growth stalls.”

“We think the metrics for linear TV are all bad. Ad revenue across our media network coverage fell 13% on average in Q2, down from -8% in 1Q, which included the Super Bowl. We forecast the second half of the year will get slightly better, but to remain negative including an off-political year comparison,” the analyst added further.

The Nielsen report comes amid more consumers dropping their cable packages in a trend known as “cord-cutting” and instead opting for streaming services that are deemed to be traditionally less profitable for media companies.

“Still, streaming is not exactly outperforming either,” Nollen warned, as he stated that subscriber numbers at major direct-to-consumer services (DTC) including Peacock, Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Paramount+, Max and Discovery+ were down by about 500,000 combined.

“Global DTC subscriber growth was 8.5% year-over-year (YoY), slowing to single digits for the first time,” the analyst wrote further, while adding that the growth was aided by Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown, which helped the leading video streamer add 5.9 million subscribers in the second quarter.

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Suparna Goswami Bhattacharya   

October 10,2014:The yellow metal traditionally has caught the fancy of many — be it in the form of bars, or in the form of Exchange-Traded Fund (ETFs). Stocks and shares remain the best form of investment for many, but gold has been steadily making inroads in the minds of investors.

There is a growing consensus among academics, researchers and asset allocation experts that gold is a hedging instrument and a safe haven asset. Many finance professionals and trading companies, including GoldCore, The Royal Mint, DGCX, BullionVault among others, now believe that gold should form part of investment and savings portfolios. The reason could vary from portfolio diversification to financial insurance.

Historically, people’s interest towards gold investment is not entirely a new concept, though. There has been a steady rise in bullion trading, especially post 2008-09 Lehman Crisis. “The start of the world economic downturn in 2008 resulted in a significant increase in demand for gold from consumers on an international basis,” says a spokesperson from The Royal Mint.

During the financial crisis of 2008, the price of gold rose to $50 on one day, the largest one day move since 1980. This, according to experts, was mainly because people took refuge in gold and perceived it as something which has high credit quality.

According to research conducted by The World Gold Council, there is potentially £4billion latent demand for gold investment within the UK alone, but consumers have been deterred from taking the plunge because of the perceived barriers to purchasing precious metals.

Asian and Middle East markets have huge faith in gold. In Dubai, the value of gold traded stood at $75 billion last year, representing nearly 40% of the world’s physical gold trade.

Also, gold jewelry stores cater to different demand segments. Tourists, especially from India, account for the majority of gold consumption in Dubai.

By 2020, when Dubai is expected to attract 20 million visitors per year, the gold traded through Dubai is expected to increase further. Given the strong demand, more gold jewelry stores are opening across the emirate.

Mohammad Younis, Director of Sales and Business Development for Dubai-based Gold AE, says, “Every year, the awareness for bullion trading has been increasing. Recently, there has been a gold rush. Several new investors are being introduced to the bullion markets. We have been seeing the most number of first-time buyers in the past few years. It has proved to be one of the most popular investments for the past two years.”

Veteran investor Marc Faber, author of The Gloom, Boom and Doom Report, reiterates the need of gold for a diversified portfolio. And he is not alone. Other experts like Max Keisr, producer Keiser Report, a programme which give financial analysis, and Josh Arnold, independent trader of options and stocks and blog writer, feel that investing in gold is not a bad option at all and provides investors some respite from the volatile nature of markets.

It does not come as a surprise that gold is one of the few asset classes that is perceived by investors as a safe haven during times of economic turmoil. “It is also one of the few assets that can be easily liquidated to generate cash. As an investment instrument, we can also provide a tactical hedge against inflation,” says Ian Wright, chief business officer, Dubai Gold and Commodity Exchange (DGCX). Looking at the growing demand, the company plans to soon add a physically deliverable spot gold contract to its portfolio of products. “This will provide yet another tool to the bullion and jewelry industry, both in the region and abroad.”

However, despite the bullishness and steady interest in trading, progress has been slow and gold still has a long way to go before it can match the popularity of stocks.

The sceptics

And critics have good reasons to make you believe that as far as gold as an investment tool is concerned, it is best kept at a distance. For one, investments in gold do not really lead to an income rise. “What income does gold generate? It does not produce any cash flow as against equity,” says an investment expert in the UK who did not wish to be named for this story.

For many, gold acts only as a hedge against fluctuating currency. In fact, some investment analysts advise their clients against investing in gold. “If diversification is what you are looking for, invest in real estate or something. The returns are much higher. Gold is safe, but if one wants returns, then that is not the right thing to invest in,” says an investment analyst with India-based Kotak Securities.

Experts opine that the problem with gold is it does not produce profits and hence not fit to be classified as real investment like stocks.

For the past 34 years, the value of gold has not risen and has, in fact, just kept up with inflation. When adjusted with inflation, it has the same value it did 30-35 years ago.

However, according to Wright it should never be the case of equities or gold. “A balance between them is important. All asset classes expose investors to various types of risk. The important point is that in investment terms, a portfolio diversifies that risk,” he says.

Gold companies on their part are trying their best to build confidence among investors. “We are building awareness for gold in the market to teach people that gold should be your plan A and not plan B, and as we always say ‘don’t wait to buy gold, buy gold and wait’,” says Younis from Gold AE.

What the future holds, nobody can say with surety. For now, you can take a call — whether you want stocks, gold or a bit of both.

Top 10 nations stockpiling gold

1. United States
2. Germany
3. Italy
4. France
5. China
6. Switzerland
7. Russia
8. Japan
9. Netherlands
10. India

Related Story: Gold hits 15-month low

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