On Tuesday, The Nielsen Company released the first U.S. figures showing video and TV usage across the “three screens”: television, the Internet, and mobile devices.
Nielsen’s findings show that TV users are watching more TV than ever before (127 hrs, 15 min per month), while spending 9% more time using the Internet (26 hrs, 26 min per month) than last year.
A small but growing number of Internet and mobile phone users are also watching video online (2 hrs, 19 min per month) and on their cell phones (3 hrs, 15 min …

On Monday, The Nielsen Company announced the release of “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000” (Doubleday), by Pete Blackshaw, Executive Vice President of Digital Strategic Services, Nielsen Online.  The book, which arrives in bookstores July 8, provides guidance for marketing in the era of Consumer Generated Media (i.e. empowered consumers).
Nielsen will host a webinar preview of the book on July 9.  To register for that event, visit: http://www.netratings.com/resources.jsp?section=event&nav=2.
For more details on the book, visit www.tell3000.com, or read a synopsis of the book in USA Today.

America’s wealth landscape is in flux.  In recent years, a new segment of wealthy Americans has emerged, according to a new white paper recently released by Nielsen Claritas. 
Known as the “New Mass Affluent,” members of this group have amassed assets of more than $100,000 each, though most of these baby boomers were born into middle class households.  By 2007, the group represented 19% of all households in the U.S.  By 2012, the New Mass Affluent is expected to grow to account for at least 20% of all American households.
Often underserved …

Advertisers spent a record $88.5 billion across 12 key markets in the Asia Pacific region during the fourth quarter of 2007, Nielsen Media Research Asia Pacific reported today. 
Overall, TV, newspaper, and magazine ad spending rose by 12% from 2006 to 2007 across the markets surveyed for the report. 
India (+31%), Indonesia (+17%), China (+15%), and Malaysia (+15%) showed the strongest growth, while Singapore (-1%) and Taiwan (-1%) registered the only ad spending declines. 
The data reveals that China, which claimed 61% of the ad spending for the region in 2007, has emerged …

With cyber communities proliferating online, the concept of a global village has become reality.  These virtual social networks unite people around shared interests, ideals, and ideas.
They may also be the next big opportunity for marketers, Nielsen Online EVP Pete Blackshaw writes in Nielsen Consumer Insight.
Blackshaw notes that savvy marketers are already monitoring online chatter to learn how to craft marketing messages to more effectively target key consumer segments. 
Eventually, he predicts, marketers will court influential members of cyber communities to generate positive buzz around their companies and products. 
“Companies should look for …

On Monday, Nielsen Mobile released first quarter 2008 smartphone statistics for the U.S.  Among the findings:
 
Smartphone users are predominantly male (59%) and most are between the ages of 25 and 34 (29%) or 35 and 44 (24.5%). 
A third of smartphone users (35.1%) have an annual household income of more than $100,000. 
More than half (52%) keep their phones for personal use, while another 23% say their company foots the bill.
View the Full Nielsen Media Alert: 6-30-08-smartphone-blast.

Despite the growing popularity of viewing television content online, most adults (94%) who subscribe to cable or satellite television services prefer to watch television on traditional TV sets, according to new research conducted by The Nielsen Company for the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM).
One-third of the adult broadband users (35%) surveyed for the Nielsen-CTAM study said they had watched at least one television program originally shown on TV via the Internet. Of those who sought out video content online, 87% watched television programs directly from a TV network …

Despite high food costs, sales of favorite cook-out foods are expected to soar in preparation for Americans’ July 4 celebrations, The Nielsen Company reported Wednesday. 
U.S. consumers are expected to purchase more than 110 million pounds or $215 million worth of hot dogs and 25 million pounds or $117 million of fresh ground beef for the July 4 holiday, according to Nielsen.  Meanwhile, carbonated beverage sales are expected to reach a whopping $1.5 billion – or more than 240 million cases, while at least 23 million cases of beer are expected …

The Nielsen Company announced today that Sony Pictures Television (SPT)’s television and Internet properties reach households that account for 83.2% in annual spending for consumer packaged goods products.  This accounts for $346 billion in annual consumer spending.  The extensive analysis of media consumption and consumer behavior was conducted by NielsenConnections.
Nielsen found that households reached by SPT’s television or Internet properties at least once a month spend an average of more than $3,700 on consumer packaged goods per year, seven percent higher than households not reached by their television or Internet …

The Nielsen Company today reported that there is strong consumer appetite for 3-D films, and revealed significant sales increases for theatres showing movies in 3-D.  Dan O’Toole, new product director, Nielsen Ventures, told The Hollywood Reporter that moviegoers perceive 3-D movies to be a “better theater experience,” and will subsequently pay more to see them.
Nielsen PreView’s 3-D study analyzed over 4,000 theatres in the United States.  The research found that theatres with at least one screen in 3-D had a 65% increase in box office sales compared to their 2-D competitors.  Theatres that showed …