Parents are spending more time in front of the television and watching DVDs than kids – and older folk are also going to the movies more – according to study results just released by Integrated Media Measurement Inc. (IMMI).
The data, which was collected by monitoring actual individual behavior, shows that for the media being tracked, females ages 45-54 will spend the most time watching television, DVDs and theatrical releases in 2007 – an estimated 47.6 days (1,142 hours).
More findings from the study:
- Males in the same age group are on track to watch 40.2 days worth of media.
- In the younger parental age group (35-44), females are predicted to watch 38.3 days of media, males 33.9 days.
- Comparatively, teenagers 13-17 (male and female) are on track to spend a total of 33.4 days in 2007 watching television, playing DVDs and going to the movies.
- The movie-watching champs for the year (DVDs and movies in the theater) are projected to be men 18-24:
- They will spend the equivalent of almost 3.5 entire days watching movies at home this year.
- They’ll spend another two days watching movies in the theater.
- Females 35 to 44 watched the least movies at home.
- Females 45 to 54 are spending the least time in the movie theater – half of what the male 18-24 year olds are watching.
- The watchers of the least TV? Males 18-24, who are projected to be in front of the tube for a cumulative 21 days in 2007.
“Teens embrace new content delivery and entertainment technologies [e.g., computers, videogames and iPods] at a much faster pace than their parents, so we will naturally see a widening gap in the amount of television viewing time between the two groups,” said Amanda Welsh, head of research for IMMI.
About the study: The research was implemented through a panel built by IMMI that mirrors U.S. Census results for fundamental demographics in key markets. IMMI provided panel members with a mobile phone, asking them to carry it with them wherever they go. The phone is equipped with a technology that creates digital signatures of all the audio media (television, radio and movies) to which it has been exposed.
