• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, March 3, 2009

The Nielsen Company recently reported that viewing of video on television, Internet and mobile devices has reached new heights.  In its fourth quarter "Three Screen Report", Nielsen says that the average American watches more than 151 hours of TV per month, an all-time high. Americans who watch video over the Internet consume another 3 hours of online video per month and those who use mobile video watch nearly 4 hours per month on mobile phones and other devices.

Monthly Time Spent on Screen Media (Hours:Minutes Per User)
	4th Q 2008	4th  Q 2007	% Diff Y-Y (08-07)	Time Difference
Watching TV at Home	151:03	145:49	3.6%	5:13
Watching timeshifted TV	7:11	5:24	33%	1:47
Using Internet	27:04	26:08	3.6%	0:56
Watching video on Internet	2:53	n/a	n/a	n/a
Mobile subscribers on mobile phone	3:42	n/a	n/a	n/a
Source: The Nielsen CompanyFebruary 2009.

Nielsen also reported that digital video recorded (DVR) and other time shifted television is watched at double the pace as video online at 7 hours, 11 minutes per month.  Yet in a potential indicator of how audiences could time shift in the future, young adults (age 18-24) watch video on the Internet and on a DVR at the same rate, about 5 hours per month.

Monthly Time Screen Viewing by Age Group (4th Q '08, Hours:Minutes)
	Age Group
Medium	2-11*	12-17*	18-24	25-34	35-44	45-54	55-64	65+
Traditional TV	106:37	103:48	118:28	142:29	147:21	173:00	190:40	207:29
Internet (Home&Work)	5:19	11:27	13:00	28:15	38:40	37:06	33:39	26:29
Video on Internet	1:49	2:49	5:03	4:14	3:20	2:34	1:34	1:08
Video on mobile phone	n/a	6:38	2:53	3:42	3:37	2:53	2:10	n/a
Source: The Nielsen CompanyFebruary 2009. *See original charts for age breakdown qualifications

Susan Whiting, vice chair of The Nielsen Company, said "... vewers appear to be choosing the best screen available for their video consumption, weighing...  convenience, quality and access... (while) TV remains the main vehicle for viewing video... online and mobile platforms are an increasingly important complement to live home-based television." 

Other notable facts include:

• Except teens, 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.
• Weekdays outpace weekends for online video viewing with 65% of online video viewers streaming content between 9am and 5pm Monday through Friday, versus 51% of online video viewers logging on between 6am and 8pm on weekends.
• The 4Q08 data shows that mobile video has grown to 11 million Americans, an increase of 9% from the previous quarter.  Much of this growth can be attributed to 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 reported mobile video users increased 2% between 3Q 2008 and 4Q 2008.     

U.S. Screen Users (Monthly Reach, X000)
Viewing Location	4th Q 2008
Watching TV in home	285,313
Watching timeshifted TV	73,934
Using the Internet (home & work)	161,525
Watching video on Internet	123,125
Using mobile phone	228,920
Watching video on mobile phone	11,198
Source: The Nielsen CompanyFebruary 2009

And, new consumer research, "Emerging Video Services III"  from Leichtman Research Group, found that usage of online video expanded in the past year. 34% of adults online at home report that they view some type of video online at least weekly, including 11% who view video online daily. This compares to 31% of those online who viewed video online at least once a week last year, and 25% two years ago. 

 While those watching recent TV shows online have increased, TV shows rank well down the list of the types of video that people are regularly viewing online, and the impact on traditional TV viewing and multi-channel video subscriptions has been negligible.

• Overall (including those not online), 1% of adults view recent TV shows online daily, and 8% weekly
• Overall, 24% of adults report viewing a news clip online weekly, 20% view YouTube or other user-generated video online weekly, and 15% view sports news or highlights online weekly
• 93% of adults with a TV report spending at least an hour a day, on average, watching TV, and 35% of adults spend at least four hours a day watching TV
• 8% of adults who watch video online strongly agree that they now watch TV less often, while 75% strongly disagree
• 18% of teens who watch video online strongly agree that they now watch TV less often, while 61% strongly disagree
• Among all adults online, 3% strongly agree that they would consider disconnecting their TV service to just watch video online, compared to 4% last year
• Those who watch recent TV shows online weekly are no more likely to consider disconnecting their TV subscription than others
• While weekly online TV show viewers spend twice as much time online per day as the average adult, they are also more likely than average to subscribe to a premium service, have digital cable, use on-Demand, have an HDTV, and subscribe to a bundle of services from a single provider
• Just 6% of those who watch recent TV shows online weekly are likely to switch from their multi-channel video provider, compared to 11% of others

Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, concludes "While those watching recent episodes of TV shows online increased in the past year, they represent a small portion of all adults... and this group tends to express less likelihood to switch from their video provider than others... "

To access the full "A2M2 Three Screen Report" please visit Nielsen here. Or, to read the complete release, visit here.