It wasn't too long ago when advertising on Las Vegas television stations was considered the gold standard for marketing by local business owners. But over the past few years, the number of viewers reached by KSNV, KVUU, KLAS, KTNV, and KLVX has plummeted. In all, only 71% of adult consumers now tune-in to at least one of these channels during the week, according to Nielsen.

The consumption of video content isn't diminishing among Nevada consumers. What has changed, though, is how they are watching it.

In November, according to Nielsen, the share of time watching broadcast television has fallen behind other video options including cable programing and internet-delivered choices such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and hundreds of other streaming networks.

It used to be so simple. When a small business owner wanted to advertise on Las Vegas television, there were only a few options including, KSNV, KVUU, KLAS, KTNV, and KLVX. But slowly, the number of options expanded to include cable channels provided by COX, DISH, and DirecTV.

Heading in 2022, local advertisers have even more options as internet-connected devices deliver hundreds of more programming choices to Nevada consumers. Collectively, this type of content is called OTT (Over-The-Top-Television) or CTV (Connected-Television). For the purpose of this discussion, OTT & CTV will be referred to singularly as streaming video.

Streaming video can be viewed on any device that can connect to the internet. This includes computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Programing can also be accessed using a smart-TV, Roku Stick, Amazon Fire Stick, or a game console. In all, according to Nielsen, 96.8% of Las Vegas households own a device capable of receiving streaming video.

In all, says Nielsen, 1.3 million consumers watch streaming video content every week. Combined, these internet channels now reach more adults every week than local newspapers, podcasts, and digital audio services like Pandora, Spotify, Sirius/XM. Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio.

Surprisingly, streaming video now reaches almost as many adults as local TV and local cable.

When KGIX-AM became Las Vegas's first radio station in 1930, there was no Facebook, no Cox Cable, no Sirius/XM, no Netflix, and no podcasts. It would be 23 years before there was even a local TV station.  Consequently, it was pretty easy for radio to become the number one reach medium among local consumers.

Over the past 91 years, Las Vegas business owners have come to depend on the mammoth reach of radio among local shoppers to successfully market the goods and services they sell. Advertising on Las Vegas radio has helped Nevada companies to survive and thrive during world wars, natural disasters, recessions, depressions, and even a pandemic.

Heading into 2022, local consumers have more media choices than ever before. But, despite the overabundance of social media, video streaming, audio streaming, cable, and other technological marvels, Las Vegas radio is still the most used advertising medium.

Every week, according to Nielsen, 1.7 million adult consumers in Las Vegas watch something on television. But, of course, the definition of what it means to watch TV has changed since the time when the number of available viewing options could be counted on the fingers of a single hand.

Today, Las Vegas consumers have a gargantuan number of viewing choices. This includes programs from stations like KSNV, KVUU, KLAS, KTNV, and KLVX. Or maybe cable and satellite systems like COX, DISH, and DirecTV. There's also content delivered over the internet from Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Disney+, and Amazon Prime.

No longer are Las Vegas consumers tied to the 21-inch Zenith in their living rooms. Instead, TV can be watched on giant LCDs, smartphones, and tablets from any room in the house, in the backseat of their cars, or practically anywhere else.

The best way to think about TV watching in Las Vegas is in terms of three buckets:

1. Over-the-air...including all broadcast channels
2. Cable...including all premium and non-premium programming
3. Internet...including all streaming services. This is also known as OTT or CTV

Here's how many Las Vegas adult viewers fall into each bucket. Remember, viewers are not limited to a single bucket.

According to Nielsen, 386,216 Las Vegas consumers listened to or downloaded a podcast during the past 30 days. This is 21.7% of the adult population.

A podcast is a downloadable digital audio file available to listeners on an internet-connected device like a smartphone, tablet, or computer. These files are typically part of series focusing on a particular theme such as true crime, professional football, politics, or pop culture.

Las Vegas consumers can listen to their favorite podcasts whenever they choose using apps like Spotify, Pandora, Google, and Stitcher. The most used podcasting app, though, is Apple Podcasts.

Research from PodcastHosing.org indicates that Las Vegas consumers can access more than 2,000,000 podcast series comprising over 48,000,000 unique episodes. According to data compiled by Edison research, the top 10 podcasts during the second quarter of 2021 were:

Since 1930 when KGIX-AM signed on, local small business owners have been advertising on Las Vegas radio to market the goods and services they sell.

Lately, some of these advertisers are voicing concerns, though, that the accelerating use of smart speakers could erode the effectiveness of commercials on local stations. Current research, however, reveals that these devices actually extend the reach of the medium and its ad content.

More than 472,150 consumers in Las Vegas have a smart speaker in their homes, according to Nielsen. This is 26.5% of the local adult population.

Smart speakers are internet-enabled devices controlled by spoken commands and capable of streaming audio content, relaying information, and communicating with other devices. 

According to the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) data, Amazon Echo (aka Alexa) accounts for 69% of all smart speakers in use. Google's smart speaker makes up another 20% of the market. The remaining 11% of the market comprises Apple Home (aka Siri), Sonos, and Bose.

Las Vegas consumers can use their smart speakers to accomplish a diverse range of tasks, including accessing news, weather, and sports information; turning on lights in the house; shopping; and food delivery.

The most common use of a smart speaker, though, is streaming audio, including Las Vegas radio stations, according to eMarketer. Edison Research's Share of Ear Study indicates that consumers devote 13% of their total time using a smart speaker listening to AM/FM radio stations. This is second only to the time spent listening to Amazon Music at 19%.

Las Vegas business owners are expected to spend $147,740,000 on streaming video advertising in 2021, according to Borrell Associates, a company that tracks online marketing expenditures across the country. This spending will be 30.9% higher than in 2020.

Streaming video advertising expenditures are accelerating as Las Vegas consumers continue to abandon shows on local TV stations and cable systems in favor of programming streamed via an internet connection. These online channels include Netflix, Hulu, Prime, Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock, Prime Video, Roku Channel, SlingTV, PlutoTV, and dozens more.

This type of streamed video content is known collectively as OTT (Over-The-Top-Television) or CTV (Connected-Television). These two terms are sometimes used interchangeably but do have a subtle difference.

OTT generally means the video is watched on a small device like a computer, tablet, or smartphone.  CTV, on the other hand, typically means the content is viewed on a smart-TV or a regular television using a streaming device like a Roku or Amazon stick.

In Las Vegas, according to Nielsen, OTT/CTV has exceeded the weekly reach of local newspapers and streaming audio services such as Pandora and Spotify. The medium is rapidly approaching the reach of local cable and broadcast TV stations.

Before Las Vegas radio station KGIX signed on in 1930,  local listeners were dependent on broadcasts from distant cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. These early stations required tall antennas and miles of buried copper cable to transmit their signals.  Most radio receivers at the time were mostly handmade and involved a piece of crystalline mineral and a wire coil.

Over many decades in Las Vegas, both the broadcasting and receiving equipment improved. In the mid-1920s this meant store-bought radios. In the 1930s this meant car radios. In the 1960s this meant transistor radios. In the 1970s this meant boom boxes. And, in the 1980s this meant Walkmen. But, despite these improvements, the fundamental technology of big towers sending a signal through the air to a radio receiver remained the same.

In 1994, there was a new way for Las Vegas consumers to listen to the radio. That was the year local stations across the country began streaming their signals over the internet and listeners could use their computers (later their smartphones and smart speakers) as receiving devices. No big antennas, no wires, and no actual radio needed.

In 2021, according to Nielsen, Las Vegas radio reaches more local consumers than any other advertising media option.

Neilsen finds, too, that 27.9% of all consumers who listen to a Las Vegas radio station over-the-air will, at some point during the month, also connect to a local station via the internet. 

More than 97% of Las Vegas adults have access to the internet.  Ubiquitous technology such as computers, tablets, smartphones, and connected TVs allow Nevada consumers to go online whenever they choose, which, for some adults, is always.

The Pew Research Center, a public opinion research company, reports that one-in-three consumers say they are online constantly. A 50% increase from 2015.  In total, 85% of consumers say they connect at least one time every day.

So, how are Las Vegas consumers spending all this time connected to the internet?

According to Nielsen, streaming audio and video content, social networking, checking the weather, and banking are the top online activities for Las Vegas consumers each month.