Consumers have more choices than ever from which to access media: traditional television, the Internet, and mobile devices like cell phones and iPods. As more options exist, they serve to actually increase the amount of time people view media as opposed cutting into viewership of one format or another. Despite the array of options, television continues to be the primary way Americans of all ages consume media. In the last quarter of 2008, the average Nielsen household watched more than 151 hours of television per month. Internet users logged on for 27 viewing hours a month and mobile subscribers consumed nearly four hours of video on a mobile phone and almost three hours on the Internet.
Other findings include:
- Despite 3 in 10 households owning a DVR, live TV continues to be the favorite way to watch TV.
- 54 percent of U.S. households have one or two TVs.
- Hispanic households are more than twice as likely as other groups to download movies.
- Fully 91 percent of households have Internet access, with 57 percent having high-speed connections.
- Viewers can be clustered into eight discrete segments based on gender, age, media consumption levels, ethnicity and social outlook.
“Media has become a digital funhouse: phones deliver TV programming. Computers enable phone calls. Televisions serve as gaming arcades. Consumers access video wherever and whenever they can. But the fact remains that TV still dominates,” said Dave Thomas, President, Global Media Client Services at Nielsen.
Read a complete review of the state of the media in the current edition of Nielsen’s Consumer Insight.
