UPDATE – 12/18/09: This article on the A2/M2™ Three Screen Report ^[1] and related documents have been updated to include data from the full time period of the quarterly report, resulting in increased numbers for in-home, and time-shifted TV viewing. The previous report did not include viewing from the first week of the new Television Season.

Nielsen’s latest A2/M2™ Three Screen Report ^[1] – a quarterly analysis from our Anytime Anywhere Media Measurement™  initiative ^[2] – shows considerable year over year growth in terms of time spent for DVR (up 22.5%) and online video (up 34.9%) in Q3 2009. Given the consistent spike in usage among the three screens of television, Internet and mobile, consumers are clearly adding video platforms to their schedule, rather than replacing them.

“Americans today have an insatiable appetite for not only content, but also choice,” says Nic Covey, director of cross-platform insights at Nielsen. “Across all age groups, we see consumers adding the Internet and mobile devices to their media diet — consuming media anytime and anywhere possible.”

What We Watch Weekly
For the first time this quarter, Nielsen reports how much time the average American spends in a typical week with TV, Internet and mobile devices. Without a doubt, consumers of all ages spend the majority of their video time (nearly 99%) in front of the television, while DVR and online video are becoming more widely used.

• In 3Q09, the average American watched more than 31 hours of TV per week, with 32 minutes spent in playback mode with their DVR.
• In addition, each week the average consumer spent a little more than 4 hours on the Internet and 22 minutes watching online video.
• The average consumer spent 3 minutes watching mobile video each week.

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The TV and Internet figures in this report are calculated using Nielsen’s National TV and Internet panels, which are measured electronically and reported on a regular basis. The Mobile phone figures are collected by Nielsen via a quarterly survey and give a firsthand look at how early adopters self-report their usage of mobile video.

Other Highlights of the Report

• Almost 99% of video content watched in America is still done on traditional television
• DVR and Online Video continue to show solid growth – up 22.5% and 34.9% respectively in time spent from Third Quarter 2008
• Teens continue to watch mobile video the most, at just over 7 hours per month, though mobile video is not just a young medium, as mobile users Adults 45-54 report viewing nearly 3 hours of video on their mobile phones

• Download Nielsen’s A2/M2™ Three Screen Report ^[1]