One in 10 Young Adults Watches Online TV Each Week

December 1, 2008

This article is included in these additional categories:

Analytics, Automated & MarTech | Email | Media & Entertainment | Technology | Television | Youth & Gen X

More than one in 10 (11%) young adults age 18-34 now watches TV online at least once a week, and these internet-TV watchers also spend an extra hour each day with media compared with their same-age counterparts, according to new data from Knowledge Networks.

Specifically, the 18-to-34 “leading-edge media group” – defined by their increased weekly viewing of TV programs online – has grown from 10% of the overall age group in Fall 2007 to 12% in Spring 2008, Knowledge Networks said. This group spends 80% more time online than the general 18-to-34 population, and 16% more time (about 1.25 hours per day more) with media in general.

knowledge-networks-online-tv-watchers-distribution-internet-time-activity-2008.jpg

This leading-edge media group of 18-34s are also much more likely to belong to and use social networks.

Other key findings among this group:

  • Daily time spent with the internet and TV is about equal – about 3.5 hours for each
  • Almost half (46%) belong to one or more social networks – indexing at 177 vs. the general 18-to-34 population . This activity consumes 19% of their online time, vs. 12% for the general 18-to-34 population
  • Instant messaging accounts for 16% of the TV-online group’s internet time (compared with 12% for all 18-to-34s)
  • Email was the most used of five specific online activities at 19%, the same proportion of time spent as the general 18-to-34 group.

In addition, the data indicates that, while the 18-to-34 TV-online group is ahead of the curve in internet use, it is mostly conventional in other characteristics:

knowledge-networks-online-tv-watchers-comparative-behavior-2008.jpg

  • 58% go to the movies in an average month, compared with 53% of all 18-to-34 consumers.
  • 81% have gone to a fast food restaurant in the past month, compared with 87% of the general 18-to-34 population.
  • 63% own a videogame system, vs. 57% of the general population.

However, the 18-to-34 year olds who watch TV online weekly are more likely to own an MP3 player. Some 62% say they do, compared with less than half (45%) of all 18-to-34s.

“For the most part, the TV-online viewers are not trading one medium for another; they are just adding a big helping of Internet time,” said said Bob DeFelice, VP for client service at Knowledge Networks. “We know that a ‘platform-agnostic’ approach – one in which content is accessible many places, at the user’s demand – will be an essential ingredient of reaching young adults.”

About the research: Knowledge Networks’ MultiMedia Mentor offering uses year-round surveys to collect information about consumers’ time spent with eight key media and enables the analysis of media habits of product users and other target groups.

Chart-Library-Ad-1

Explore More Articles.

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

9 in 10 RevOps professionals view data analysis skills as being important, a high percentage also don’t believe they need this skill for their job.

Marketing Charts Logo

Stay on the cutting edge of marketing.

Sign up for our free newsletter.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This