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Americans Using TV and Internet Together 35% More Than A Year Ago

March 22, 2010

Americans increased their overall media usage and media multitasking according to The Nielsen Company’s latest Three Screen Report, which tracks consumption across TV, Internet and mobile phones.  In the last quarter of 2009, simultaneous use of the Internet while watching TV reached three and a half hours a month, up 35% from the previous year. Nearly 60% of TV viewers now use the Internet once a month while also watching TV.

“The rise in simultaneous use of the web and TV gives the viewer a unique on-screen and off-screen relationship with TV programming,” said Nielsen Company media product leader Matt O’Grady. “The initial fear was that Internet and mobile video and entertainment would slowly cannibalize traditional TV viewing, but the steady trend of increased TV viewership alongside expanded simultaneous usage argues something quite different.”

Persons 2+ Watching TV and Using the Internet Simultaneously

At Least Once Per Month At Home
Dec 2009 June 2009 Dec 2008 % Diff Yr to Yr
% of Persons Using TV/Internet Simultaneously

59.0%

56.9%

57.5%

2.7%
Estimated Number of Persons Using TV/Internet Simultaneously (000)

134,056

128,047

128,167

4.6%
Time Spent Simultaneously Using TV/Internet Per Person in Hours:Minutes

3:30

2:39

2:36

34.5%
Average % of TV time Panelists spent also using the Internet

3.1%

2.7%

2.4%

29.7%
Average % of Internet time Panelists spent also using TV

34.0%

27.9%

29.9%

13.9%
Source: The Nielsen Company

Behind The Rise in TV and DVR Use

Each week, on average, Americans watched roughly 35 hours of TV and two hours of timeshifted TV via a DVR. The growth in viewing is due to a number of factors:  The DVR brings added convenience while high definition programming and flatscreen TVs have boosted the quality of the experience.  Digital delivery, via cable or satellite, is delivering more channels and more choice to the home than ever before.

DVRs, now found in 35% of American households, continue to gain popularity. Those age 25-34 watch nearly three hours a week of timeshifted TV, while those age 65 and older watch just more than an hour.

A Week in the Life

Weekly Time Spent in Hours:Minutes

By Age Demographic 4Q 2009

K2-11

T12-17

A18-24

A25-34

A35-49

A50-64

A65+

P2+
On Traditional TV

25:17

23:24

26:14

31:58

35:40

42:38

47:21

34:37
Watching Timeshifted TV

1:33

1:15

1:28

2:58

2:44

2:22

1:10

2:04
Using the Internet

0:24

1:21

3:45

5:20

6:35

4:53

2:17

3:56
Watching Video on Internet

0:04

0:15

0:39

0:35

0:33

0:17

0:06

0:22
Mobile Subscribers Watching Video on a Mobile Phone

n/a

0:21

0:08

0:06

0:01

<0:01

n/a

0:04
Source: The Nielsen Company

Growth in Online and Mobile Viewing
Online video consumption is up 16% from last year. Of note, approximately 44% of all online video is being viewed in the workplace.  The research shows that Americans watch network programs online when they miss an episode or when a TV is not available.  Online video is used essentially like DVR and not typically a replacement for watching TV.

Active mobile video users grew by 57% from the fourth quarter of 2008 to the fourth quarter of 2009, from 11.2 million to 17.6 million.  Much of this increase can be linked to the strong growth of smartphones in the marketplace.

“It seems that, for the foreseeable future at least, America’s love affair with the TV will continue unabashed,” said O’Grady. “We seem to have an almost insatiable appetite for media, with online and mobile programming only adding to it.”

For complete data and methodology, download The Nielsen Company’s Three Screen Report.

For press inquiries or for more information on this article contact Nielsen
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  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=726706158 Andre Barbosa Filho

    There´s an incredible new that confirms our opinion about the convergence´state of art. TVs and Internet will be side by side for years ago and it reforces the concept that medias and pltforms are complementar and they don´t fight for their survival, excluding one or another.

  • Charli

    Today's technology is changing rapidly, what use to have a 10 year life is obsolete in less than a year. With each passing day, new technology emerges. LG, HD, 3D all in the past few years has taken our television viewing to new heights. This may sound like syfi, but soon we will be watching televison in an interactive role.

  • Lovinmalamutes

    I have been watching T.V. while surfing the net for years now. It just seemed as though they went hand in hand.

  • yn leung

    I am shocked by the 65+ number for media useage – little new media, convergence and basically couch potatoes. We look at the young for growth – I would say there is major growth potential in an aging population becoming more comfortable with media and wanting connection.

  • Alan T. Tattersall

    There should be a better way to watch TV and be on the Internet at the same time. Maybe have two screens side by side or a split screen. I spend about 8 hours a day watching TV and using the internet at the same time more or less. More of the internet than the TV. I really get involved with the internet than with the TV, I just use it for back ground noise.

  • janette

    There are now interactive commercials so I guess anything is possable.

  • Rhonda Jeter

    I think split screen action should come into play where you can surf the on the half bottom the screen while watching favorite shows on the top of the screen wihout the slow down but this will definitely bring the price up on technology….Love the report…

  • Deedee

    I really enjoy being able to watch TV and have my internet y my side, I'm able to look up stuff that's going on during my TV time. Finding out about the actors or being able to go straight to an advertisers website while its still fresh in my mind. I feel having internet usage with my TV time had made the whole viewing experience more enjoyable.

  • DawnMarie Fluharty

    In some way I agree with the previous post, I use thr internet all day with the TV on as background noise. Yet at night my husband and I use the internet to find our favorite international Radio or TV station, thus I have a conflict in my oppinions

  • Howard

    very interesting report

  • Melana Howe

    In our household we seem to have a TV in most of the rooms. The majority of our computers are portable and we take them with us as we go from room to room. We don't necessarily find ourselves watching TV while we work, its just on in the background and we glance up. Maybe its merely habbit to have the TV on no matter what you are doing???

  • Tom Chatterton

    My first Internet experience was using a WebTV box back in 1998 – the original Internet + television mix. I loved it. The original unit wouldn't al;low watching TV & surfing at the smae time. But the next generation of units had a (Picture-in-Picture) PIP – so that you could watch your shows and still surf & email. When I upgraded to computers I was so used to having that PIP that I purchased a special TV turner card for my PC from Hauppuage.com that did the same thing for my PC. I would plug the cable into the back of the PC.

  • Chet Zaiko

    When I watch TV, I watch TV. I have to sit in front of a computer all day long, and TV is an escape for me. I purposely keep my computer in another room. NO DISTRACTIONS !

  • hippychick

    I always have the TV on when i'm in the internet i liked listening to the tv.

  • http://ckjohnson.mychoices.biz Lynn

    I watch tv and am on the internet at the sametime because having on shows while I work online from home helps me to tune out the people talking outside of their homes, near the laundromat, or just sitting and bbq, etc. Living in an apartment complex can be noisy and very distracting. Having the TV on allows me to be able to tune out those unwanted distractions and gives me something to look at from time to time so that my vision doesn’t get blurry from looking at the screen for long periods of times.

  • http://ckjohnson.mychoices.biz Lynn

    I always watch tv and be on the internet at the sametime. It helps me tune out my neighbors at the apartment complex and also give me something else to look at to help me from having a blurred vision at anytime.

  • http://www.peterarmenti.com armenti

    haha.. I find this quite interesting.. because I've been doing both since both existed :) People have always made fun of me because I've organized my living rooms such that I can see the tv while on the computer.. and now I make sure all my computers have tv tuners in them. I don't know.. I need to be doing at least two things at once at all times :) TV tuners and a 26" screen are the way to go though :)

  • http://www.makeyourownrapbeats.org Make Your Rap Beats

    I usually watch TV then surf the net while the commercials are on. Now, i usually watch the shows on the net either from their websites or on youtube but its mainly because of time constraints where I'd have to be somewhere else or busy when the show is on.

  • http://www.datatank.ch ads

    very interesting statistics and report

  • http://www.datatank.ch datatank

    Hi, very interesting data, I wonder if we would come here in Europe the same results. For example I have Internet in the office space and television in the living room when I'm on the Internet, I can not see television i hear the TV.

  • http://the60sclothing.com miguel ramostia

    Also wonder the theoretical results of Europe, being a European myself

  • http://kinectprices.com kinect cost

    I do it all the time. Use my TV and Internet Together…I think that's the next model of entertainment and business mixed together :)

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