• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, April 18, 2013

According to results from an Edison Research and Arbitron study. heavy usage of one of the top 3 media (by reach) does not necessarily mean that less (than average) time is spent with the other media. Heavy internet users (4+ hours per day) report spending more than 7 hours per day on the internet, but the amount of time they spend watching TV (3:35 vs. 3:33) and listening to the radio (2:07 vs. 2:04) is on par with the general population.

The same is true for heavy TV users (5+ hours per day). These viewers report watching a whopping 8 hours and 16 minutes per day of TV, on average, but also report spending more time on the internet (2:52 vs. 2:38) and listening to the radio (2:12 vs. 2:04) than the average American aged 12 and up.

Heavy radio users (3+ hours per day) report spending almost 6-and-a-half hours per day listening to the radio. Compared to the general population, they spend almost as much time watching TV, and about 20 minutes more on the internet.

Separately, the study finds that 256 million Americans aged 12 and up watch TV (up from 230 million a decade ago), while 243 million listen to the radio (up from 223 million) and 232 million go online (up from 178 million). The average time spent with those 3 media today is 8 hours and 15 minutes, up more than an hour from 7 hours and 3 minutes a decade ago.

Radio is the top medium during the half hour before people arrive to shop

And, ads on the AM/FM radio prompt consumer response, says the report.

In January/February 2013, Arbitron and Edison Research conducted a national telephone survey offered in both English and Spanish language (landline and cell phone) of 2,021 people aged 12 and older. Data were weighted to national 12+ population figures.

For more information from Edison Research, please visit here.