Classical TV Draws a Surprisingly Young Audience for its High-Quality, Full-Length Performing Arts Programming Online

NEW YORK, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- In little more than a year since launching, Classical TV (www.classicaltv.com), the premier destination online for streaming high-quality, full-length performing arts video programs, is attracting a conspicuously young audience:

• 20.6%   are 18-to-24 years old
• 51.2%   are 18-to-34 years old—more than half!
• 79.6%   are  18-to-49 years old

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The audience was measured with Microsoft Analytics.  The truth behind these figures – that a much younger audience exists for cultural presentations than was previously expected by presenters-- was suggested by a Rasmussen Report on the potential cultural audience in the U.S., commissioned by Classical TV in 2009:

• 68% of those interested in the performing arts who said they were likely to watch it online, were 18-to-49 years old

The Rasmussen breakdown of that 68% looked like this:

• 26%     18–29 years old
• 27%     30–39 years old
• 15%     40–49 years old

Classical TV's Rasmussen Report was based on an extremely robust survey.  Whereas many surveys—even those for the recent U.S. presidential polls—are often conducted with responses from 500 individuals, the Classical TV survey was done with 3,000 individuals.  Thus the Report presents an extremely accurate snapshot of America's potential to grow larger cultural audiences—a potential that Classical TV is turning into reality, by presenting culture as engagingly and unstuffily as possible.

"We've made it easier for everyone, including younger people, to engage with classical performances," said Stephen Greco, Classical TV's Director of Content.  "Others are starting to do the same thing: Peter Gelb at the Metropolitan Opera, Alan Gilbert at the New York Philharmonic-- people who are thinking in new ways about reaching new ears and eyes, and reshaping the demographic of classical audiences.  Of course, we have a secure base of mature culture lovers, but we're delighted that many younger viewers are watching, say, La Boheme, here for the first time and then coming back for more."

Greco is a former editor of Stagebill, 7 Days, and Interview magazines.

BACKGROUND ON CLASSICAL TV

Classical TV celebrated its launch with a free streaming of the Salzburg Festival Opening Night Gala, on July 30, 2009.  Founded by Emmy Award-winning producer/director Chris Hunt, who also created Online Classics, Classical TV currently encompasses over 1000 hours of high-quality performing arts video programs, available largely for free.  New programs are added regularly.  Among the pay-per-view offerings are the Metropolitan Opera's pioneering and highly-acclaimed hi-def productions.  

Classical TV programs encompass not only opera but symphonic and chamber music, ballet and modern dance, jazz and pop music, theater and musicals, and documentaries.  These include performances from the world's most prestigious stages such as St. Petersburg's Mariinsky (Kirov) Theater, London's Royal Albert hall, Paris's Theatre du Chatelet, and many others.  Artists featured include Placido Domingo, Renee Fleming, Nina Simone, Luciano Pavarotti, Anna Netrebko, Roberto Alagna, Quincy Jones, Martha Argerich, Johnny Cash, Pierre Boulez, and many more.

Classical TV also offers a wealth of lively and informative exclusive editorial content including feature articles, topical playlists, insider columns, and cultural news that give fresh insights into the world of classical performance and context for Classical TV's vast library.  Classical TV's roster of commentators includes some of the most respected cultural journalists including Claudia La Rocco, Vivien Schweitzer, Chris Kompanek, Glenn Kurtz, and Robert J. Hughes.

SOURCE Classical TV