Zappers, casuals, and loyals

Zappers, casuals and loyals are all terms defining media consumer audience types.

Henry Jenkins notes in his book "Convergence Culture," "Loyals watch series; zappers watch television." (Jenkins, Henry, Convergence Culture, New York University Press: New York, 2006, p. 74)

Zappers

Media consumers with irregular and unreliable consumer habits. They switch frequently between TV channels, often in the middle of a program. Zappers are one of the most difficult groups for television advertisers to access and, therefore, they must use innovative techniques in order get their message across.

Casuals

Consumers who tend to return to certain for example TV shows, yet without definate regularity. Often, they do not plan to watch a certain show but just "end up" doing so. They are also more likely to engage in casual viewing where watching the television is only one of the multiple tasks they engage in at once.

Loyals

Reliable consumers who are committed to watching a particular TV show. Loyals watch less hours of television a week than the average viewer because they have chosen specific shows to which they are loyal. Loyals are the ones using their DVRs to record shows in case they happen to miss their screening time. They are more likely to engage in cross-media interaction related to the show than zappers or casuals.