The average American watches an all-time high of more than 151 hours of TV per month, while those who watch video on the internet consume three hours online, and those who watch video on their mobile phone or other device do so nearly four? hours per month, according to data from The Nielsen Company.
Nielsen’s Q4 “A2/M2 Three Screen Report“, reveals that the average viewing of video on TV, internet and mobile devices continues to increase for all media and that time-shifting is one of the most popular ways to watch TV.
Digital video recorded (DVR) and other time-shifted TV is watched at double the pace as video online – at 7 hours, 11 minutes per month, Nielsen said. However, young adults (age 18-24) watch video on the internet and on a DVR at the same rate – about 5 hours per month.
Other findings from the three-screen study:
- Except for the teenage years, viewing of traditional TV increases with age; the use of video on the internet peaks among young adults while viewing mobile video is highest in the teen years.
- Men continue to watch video on mobile phones more than women, and women continue to watch video on the internet and television more than men.
- The work day continues to be the prime time for internet video. Weekdays outpace weekends for online video viewing with 65% of online video viewers streaming content between 9am – 5pm Monday through Friday, vs. 51% of online video viewers logging on between 6am – 8pm on weekends.
- Nielsen Q408 data shows that 11 million Americans now watch video on a mobile phone, an increase of 9% vs. the previous quarter. Much of this growth is from increased mobile content and the rise of the mobile web as a viewing option. In addition, the average monthly time spent viewing mobile video among mobile video users increased 2%, from 3:37 to 3:42 between Q308 and Q408.
“The American fascination with television and other video content is not easing up, as consumers keep turning to TV, Internet and Mobile at record levels,” said Susan Whiting, vice chair of The Nielsen Company. “Viewers appear to be choosing the best screen available for their video consumption, weighing a variety of factors, including convenience, quality and access. It is clear that TV remains the main vehicle for viewing video, although online and mobile platforms are an increasingly important complement to live home-based television.”
About the research: The TV and internet figures 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.
