• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, December 24, 2007

Over Half of Connected TV Viewers Also Watch on Alternative Devices

According to the recent release of The ChoiceStream 2007 Survey of Viewer Trends in TV and Online Video, 55% of connected consumers who watch TV watch some type of video on devices other than their TV sets, including their computers, mobile phones and digital media players (e.g., iPod). Not surprisingly, video-watching on these alternative devices is more popular among younger consumers (66%) than older ones (36%).

Key findings from 824 U.S. resident adult Internet users, 52% female and 48% male, who made at least one online purchase within the past 6 months, include these selections:

• 65% watch professionally-produced TV programming, including network- and cableproduced shows, news and sports. This exceeds the 39% of consumers watching user-generated video by 67%.
• 36% of consumers surveyed use the computer to watch TV programming, with 43% of 18-24 year olds using it to watch TV programming and just 21% of 50+ year olds using it.
• Of those consumers who watch TV programs on their computers, 33% report watching at least four hours per week.
• 20% of consumers expect to watch more TV programs on alternative devices over the next six months. For 55% of those consumers the increase will come at the expense of watching TV programming on their sets.
• When searching for video content to watch on a computer, mobile device or media player, 62% of consumers indicate that it takes at least a few minutes to find something interesting to watch. Overall, 34% of consumers are frustrated with the time it takes to discover video online and on mobile devices.
• Browsing Web sites is the most popular method for finding video to watch on a computer, mobile device or media player.
• 72% of consumers indicate that it takes at least a few minutes to find something to watch on their TV sets and 34% believe that is too long.
• By far, consumers find the on-screen guide the most useful tool for finding programming to watch on their TV sets. And, more than half of consumers (53%) express interest in having a personalized on-screen guide that's tailored to their particular tastes and interests to help them find programming.
• 43% of consumers claim that they would watch more VOD and PPV if they could find more that they liked (easily), up 19% from 2006.

The survey finds that 23% of consumers watch TV commercials when they watch recorded programs.

• The most popular reasons cited for why consumers watch commercials are that they are educational (36%) and entertaining (34%) 
• 42% of consumers claim to be willing to watch more commercials in exchange for a lower subscription fee.

Detailed information concerning these and other findings may be found in the PDF report which can be accessed from choisestream here.