- 51% of respondents to a new survey from UTA and SightX said they were consuming comedy
TV during the coronavirus outbreak, beating all other genres. - 59% of respondents said they were consuming comedy movies while at home.
- Drama, action/adventure, and family were other notable genres.
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At-home audiences are looking for a good laugh as people practice social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
The talent agency UTA's data group UTA IQ, along with the research firm SightX, conducted a representative survey of nearly 1,100 people across the US, ages 18 to 54, who had been social distancing during the coronavirus outbreak from April 4 to April 11.
The survey found that 51% of respondents were watching comedy TV shows during the outbreak, the leading genre.
Drama (39%), action/adventure (33%), and news (33%) followed among TV viewers. Family came in at 27%.
"A third of people still rely on TV to get their news, and family-friendly content is important with so many children home 24/7," the survey said.
The popularity of family television is good for Disney Plus, which was the
HBO Max was the leading service among those that recently launched or are launching this year, such as the mobile-only Quibi and NBCUniversal's Peacock.
The chart below breaks down each TV genre:
The comedy genre also dominated among movie viewers, with 59% of respondents saying they were consuming comedy movies while home. This it notable considering comedies have struggled in theaters in recent years while blockbuster superhero movies dominate the box office.
But only 24% of respondents said they were watching superhero/comic-book movies while social distancing, suggesting audiences prefer a spectacle on the big screen while comedies provide comfort at home.
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