Changes are afoot, however, as consumers seek out the entertainment option that makes the most sense for them. The number of homes subscribing to wired cable has decreased 4.1 percent in the past year at the same time that telephone company-provided and satellite TV have seen increases of 21.1 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

Broadcast-Only/Broadband Homes in Focus
Though less than 5 percent of TV households, homes with broadband Internet and free, broadcast TV are on the rise—growing 22.8 percent over last year. These households are also found to exhibit interesting video behaviors: they stream video twice as much as the general population and watch half as much TV.

Whether they’re cord-cutters or former broadcast-only homes that upgraded to Internet service, these homes represent a very small but growing group of U.S. consumers. Interestingly, roughly the same percentage of consumers in broadcast-only/broadband homes watch traditional TV, stream or use the Internet as in all cross-platform homes; the difference between these groups falls to time spent on these activities. Even broadcast-only/broadband homes spend the majority of their video time watching traditional TV: 122.6 minutes, compared to 11.2 for streaming on average each day.

For more insights on usage and trends across TV, mobile, online, and social media download Nielsen’s State of the Media: Consumer Usage Report.

Highlights of Nielsen’s “State of the Media: The Social Media Report”

• Social networks and blogs continue to dominate Americans’ time online, now accounting for nearly a quarter of total time spent on the Internet
• At over 53 billion total minutes during May 2011, Americans spend more time on Facebook than they do on any other website
• Tumblr is an emerging player in social media, nearly tripling its audience from a year ago
• Nearly 40 percent of social media users access social media content from their mobile phone
• Internet users over the age of 55 are driving the growth of social networking through the Mobile Internet
• 70 percent of active online adult social networkers shop online, 12 percent more likely than the average adult Internet user
• Across a sample of 10 global markets, social networks and blogs are the top online destination in each country, accounting for the majority of time spent online and reaching at least 60 percent of active Internet users

For a more in-depth look at the social media landscape and audience, view the complete State of the Media: The Social Media Report. 

In fact, as long as consumers can get the video app for free, or at a low cost, more than half (56%) of respondents said they don’t mind mobile advertisements on video apps—especially if it allows them to access content for free.

In addition, 65 percent of video app users surveyed said that word-of-mouth plays an important role in deciding which video apps to use.

The study also showed that video app usage increases consumer engagement with TV programs, networks and related websites. Roughly 85 percent of video app users surveyed said they watch the same amount or more of regularly scheduled TV since they began using video apps, and nearly half (46%) reported being more engaged with the programs or networks associated with the video apps after accessing them. In addition, 35 percent report that video app usage causes them to visit the network or program website associated with the video app more than they had before they started using the app.

Nielsen and CTAM also conducted the first-ever qualitative study of “sync-to-TV” apps which found these apps increase consumers’ engagement with television programming rather than distracting from it. Sync-to-TV refers to a second screen app on a tablet device that recognizes audio codes embedded in a program as it’s broadcast through a TV set, and launches interactive and social networking features on the device that correspond with the programming on the TV screen.

Study participants reported that the sync-to-TV experience made them more likely to pay heightened attention to the program, thus increasing their engagement with the program and advertising, and keeping them tuned in longer.

• The report Roadmap to Video Apps is available for purchase via CTAM.

When it comes to TV viewing, women of all ages spend more time than their male counterparts. Women ages 2+ watch nearly 16 hours of traditional TV more per month than men. On the flipside, men consistently spend more time streaming video online.

Older Americans (65+) watch more than twice as much traditional TV as teens, and roughly 37 percent more TV than those ages 35-49. In terms of the size of the audience, Americans 50-64 make up the largest segment of the traditional TV audience (25%). Interestingly, adults 35-49 represent the largest segment of the Internet video audience (27%) and Americans 25-34 dominate the mobile video audience (30%).

There are also distinct viewing trends by ethnicity, with African-Americans watching the most video content.

• When it comes to traditional TV, African-Americans tune in nearly 213 hours per month, more than twice as much as Asians and roughly 57 hours more than Whites. African-Americans also watch the most mobile video, though less time-shifted TV than the general population.
• Asians have emerged as the hands-down leader in time spent watching video on the Internet, averaging six-plus hours more per month than Whites and nearly four hours more per month than the next closest ethnic group, Hispanics. Asians also watch far less traditional TV than the general population.
• Hispanics watch less traditional TV but more Internet video than the general population, but not at the level of the Asian population.
• Whites watch by far the most time-shifted TV—nearly 50 percent more than Asians, the next closest ethnic group—when looking at all TV homes. They continue to watch the most when the field narrows to only homes with DVRs. Whites also watch less video on the Internet or mobile phones than other ethnic groups.

For more detail on methodology, viewing demographics, mobile video, timeshifted TV, and Internet video, download Nielsen’s Cross-Platform Report.

Conversely for Hulu, watching directly on a computer is the dominant way consumers connect. Eighty-nine percent of Hulu users watch directly on a computer, while 42 percent of Netflix users report watching on their computers.

One-fifth of Hulu users and 14 percent of Netflix users also report that they stream by connecting their computer to the TV. Other over-the-top, Internet-enabled devices, such as Roku Box, Google TV and Apple TV, were also cited as means for connecting with Hulu and Netflix. Respondents were able to select more than one viewing method to best reflect their viewing habits.

Hulu and Netflix users also trend toward different content types. Nearly three-fourths (73%) of Hulu users view primarily TV shows, compared to 11 percent of Netflix users. On the flipside, more than half (53%) of Netflix users watch primarily movies, while 9 percent of Hulu users say the same. Finally, twice as many Netflix users than Hulu users watch both movies and TV shows equally.

Methodology
Nielsen completed more than 12,000 online interviews in March 2011, focusing on usage and attitudes for over-the-top video, particularly Netflix and Hulu.

Traditional TV
Overall TV viewership increased 22 minutes per month per person over last year, remaining the dominant source of video content for all demographics. In addition, Nielsen data shows that consumers are willing to pay for high-quality TV content, with broadcast-only homes less than a tenth of U.S. TV households.

Mobile Video
Though still accounting for just a handful of hours per month, mobile video viewing continues to see marked gains, increasing 41 percent over last year and more than 100 percent since 2009.

Timeshifted TV
Timeshifted TV continues to grow, both in the penetration of DVR devices in the home and the time spent.

Internet Video
Internet video streaming also saw increases in time spent; this behavior is the highest among a younger and diverse subset of the population.

More details are available to download in the complete Cross-Platform Report.

Emerging Traditional TV/In-home Internet Streaming Trend
Until the fall of 2010, Nielsen data consistently indicated that the heaviest media consumers are so across all platforms. A subset of consumers from television and Internet homes has now emerged that defies that notion, with the lightest traditional television users streaming significantly more Internet video, and the heaviest streamers under-indexing for traditional TV viewership.

This behavior is led by those ages 18-34.  The group of consumers exhibiting this behavior is significant but small. More than a third of the TV/Internet population is not streaming, whereas less than 1% are not watching TV.

For more in-depth information on overall viewing behavior—by ethnicity, gender and age—as well as emerging trends and device and delivery penetration, download Cross-Platform Report.

With today’s announcement of the first live application on Nielsen’s new Media-Sync Platform, I’m sure some are wondering, “How did Nielsen get involved in launching an iPad app with ABC?”

The answer is simple really. We saw the opportunity to leverage our world-class technology to help bring TV viewers closer to their favorite shows.

At a time when consumers are more sophisticated than ever and networks and advertisers are looking for ways to deepen engagement with their audiences, they are turning to Nielsen for help in better understanding the connected consumer in an increasing fragmented media landscape.

In Q1 2010, Nielsen data showed that nearly 60% of people were watching TV and using the Internet on their computers simultaneously. With more and more consumers going on online while they watch TV, many viewers have already been engaging in a two-screen experience, primarily using social media for ‘background chatter,’ or activity in the margins.

Further to that, we know from a Nielsen survey last month of more than 4,000 mobile subscribers who reported downloading a mobile app in the previous 30 days, that social networking apps are among the most popular, with 49% of smartphone users and 32% of feature phone users reporting to have used one in the past 30 days. As connected devices such as touchscreen tablets gain in popularity, mobile apps are likely to flourish there as well.

However, the question is: how can content producers and broadcasters leverage this to more closely connect with TV fans and bridge the gap between consumers and advertising?

That’s why I’m so excited about the launch of our first-of-its-kind iPad application, developed with Disney/ABC, for the September 23rd premiere of ABC’s new primetime drama, “My Generation.” Nielsen’s ability to not only deliver the best, most comprehensive audience research services, but also to open up our technology to develop an innovative sync-to-broadcast app that appeals to both TV fans and advertisers, is key in answering this question and providing exciting a new way to connect viewers with content.

Built on Nielsen’s new Media-Sync Platform, which allows mobile applications to automatically detect and synchronize with TV programming using Nielsen’s proprietary audio watermarks, ABC’s My Generation Sync iPad app will enhance the experience of watching “My Generation” by providing synchronized interactive content and social media functionality on the iPad. Now available in the Apple iTunes App Store, the app allows fans of the new ABC series to unlock content and features, as well as connect in real-time with other viewers of the program through social networks.

The most powerful social opportunities for television programming will be related to specific compelling elements of individual TV shows. Whether it’s sharing comments and interacting with other viewers, or unlocking related content and additional engagement opportunities within and between social networks, we believe this will pave the way to fundamentally change the way consumers interact with TV programs and advertisements.

We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the industry to develop more exciting ways to enhance the new consumer media experience.