Preparing the Future of TV Warnings and Alerts: Using Eye-Tracking to Measure how Warning Information Design can Impact Understanding and Retention

As the geographic reach of Next Generation TV (Advanced Television Systems Committee ATSC 3.0) continues to grow, so do the opportunities for Advanced Emergency Information. The unique capabilities included in NextGen TV, such as customizable programing, geotargeted information, and break-in and wake-up alerts, offer the first chance for alert innovation via television since the standardization of the Emergency Alert System in the 1990s. Broadcasters will have the opportunity to share additional alert and warning information to their customers directly, without disrupting set programming. Our objective is to determine how best to present alerts to ensure ease of human information processing.

There is little research examining how viewers understand and interpret TV alert and warning information. Previous research (Michaud et al. 2024) identified a set of common design elements in alerting overlays to broadcast screens. Local networks typically rely on “crawls” to display warning information with county warning map graphics, while national weather-focused networks include much more than warning information. Research on human information processing in noisy environments has determined that there may be a limit to how much information consumers can process, especially when needing to make quick decisions under conditions of threat.

This presentation will focus on early findings from experimental research on the impact of screen design on visual attention. We use eye-tracking and qualitative interviews with participants to examine how consumers process visual information about alerts and warnings. We focus on screen elements that affect viewing speed and accuracy of information processing as participants make decisions about their safety during fictitious tornado, wildfire, and tropical events. By using a research-based and user-focused design, we can help provide NextGen TV consumers with the information they need in a format that is easiest to use and make-decisions.