Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your tax-deductible donation now.
What Exactly Are We Doing At Home? Not Just Streaming
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.
There's never been a time like the pandemic, and there's never been more free time than during the pandemic. So what exactly are we doing with our daily schedules gone the way of handshakes and hugs?
A month into shelter-in-place orders, some meaningful research is starting to arrive. Some of the news is far from surprising.
Yes, we are watching boatloads more streaming content; Netflix's Tiger King attracted 34 million viewers in its first 10 days. Bakers have been kneading a whole lot of bread. And people who love a little friendly competition are playing more board and video games, on platforms like Twitch and Nintendo.
DON'T MISS ANY L.A. CORONAVIRUS NEWS
Get our daily newsletters for the latest on COVID-19 and other top local headlines.
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Sponsored message
But there are some unexpected details in the new data.
Even with so much unstructured time, we're not listening to more music, because we're not in our cars that much and major artists like Lady Gaga and Alicia Keys are delaying new album releasesuntil they can tour. With hardly anyone commuting to work, podcast downloads also are declining.
And home-bound audiences are looking for streaming beyond Netflix. The digital media company Roku has seen its sales explode, the new short-form video site Quibi reported 1.7 million downloads, and a few months into its launch Disney+ has 50 million subscribers.
With movie theaters closed (and some teetering on the edge of bankruptcy), the turnout for new films premiering on video-on-demand platforms is robust; according to NBCUniversal, last weekend's animated sequel Trolls World Tour was "the biggest debut ever for a digital release," though the studio didn't reveal exact figures. (Starting Wednesday evening, NBCUniversal's new ad-supported streaming site, Peacock, will become available on certain platformsahead of its July 15 launch.)
In a comprehensive writeup in his newsletter Screentime, Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw reports that sales of puzzles and games are skyrocketing (up more than 200% in late March), that more people are sharing shelter-in-place videos and photos on Instagram (up 22%) and that viewers are abandoning sports channels like ESPN in favor of cable outlets like Fox News. Users of Twitch spent 1.3 billion hours on the gamer site last month, while the online video game "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" has become a blockbuster around the world.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
