Nielsen’s latest State of the Media fact sheet shows that in the second quarter of 2010, U.S. television continued to reach more people over more platforms. The amount of television viewing in the U.S. remains high. In the second quarter of 2010, the average person watched more than 143 hours of television per month. This rate of consumption is essentially flat compared to the same period a year ago; however, the emergence of the DVR as a widely distributed device has changed viewing behaviors in many homes. The average person living in a DVR home watched 24 1/2 hours of DVR playback during this period. Looking at demographic groups more closely, the age group that watched the most television by DVR playback was viewers age 25-34. That demographic watched 29 1/2 hours of DVR playback per month.
As in past periods, the lowest overall viewing is done by teens, with viewing increasing with each older age break. And women continue to watch more television than men, with 54 percent of all TV viewing consumed by that demographic.
| Overall Usage Number of Users 2+ (in 000’s) – Monthly Reach | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 2010 | Q1 2010 | Q2 2009 | % Diff Yr to Yr | |
| Watching TV in the home° | 286,648 | 286,225 | 284,306 | 0.82% |
| Watching Timeshifted TV° | 97,914 | 94,599 | 82,677 | 18.43% |
| Source: The Nielsen Company |
| Monthly Time Spent in Hours:Minutes Per User 2+ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 2010 | Q1 2010 | Q2 2009 | % Diff Yr to Yr | Hrs:Min Diff Yr to Yr | |
| Watching TV in the home* | 143:37 | 158:25 | 143:51 | -0.2% | -0:14 |
| Watching Timeshifted TV (all TV homes)* | 9:27 | 9:36 | 8:02 | 17.7% | 1:25 |
| DVR Playback (only in homes with DVRs) | 24:27 | 25:48 | 24:11 | 1.1% | 0:16 |
| Source: The Nielsen CompanyEditor’s Note: TV viewing patterns in the US tend to be seasonal, with TV usage higher in the winter months and lower in the summer months, sometimes leading to a decline in quarter to quarter usage. |
