Survey: 2% Of TV Viewers Go Outside The Box

by Wayne Friedman , October 6, 2009

laptop

A new TV survey says 2% -- or two hours per month -- of all TV viewing in the U.S. comes from non-traditional TV devices.

In a recent survey of multichannel TV users, media researcher Horowitz Associates says the 2% represents two hours of the 130.2 overall hours that U.S. TV viewers watch in a month.

The best device for non-traditional TV viewing is the laptop. Of those who owned a PC/laptop, 9% -- or 13 hours out of 138.6 monthly hours of TV content -- is viewed on a platform other than a TV set. Among multichannel viewers who watch TV content on a handheld device, 8% -- or 12 hours out of the 143.1 monthly hours of TV content -- is viewed on a platform other than a TV set.

The top Web areas to view videos, according to survey, are YouTube. com, ABC.com. Hulu.com and NBC.com. The top types of programs watched on alternative video platforms are: scripted dramas (24%); news programming (14%); comedy shows (13%); sports (13%); and sitcoms (11%).

Horowitz says that of those surveyed, over one-third (36%) wish all their favorite shows were available online; another 30% wish all TV shows were available on handheld devices.

A smaller number of TV viewers (7%) said that if all or most TV programs were available on their computer, they would get rid of their TV service. The majority, however, still prefer traditional TV viewing. Eight in 10 (79%) say they prefer to watch TV shows on a TV versus a computer or handheld device.

Horowitz says the results come from its "State of Digital and Interactive Television" survey of 800 nationwide multichannel TV customers.

media measurement, television

2 comments about "Survey: 2% Of TV Viewers Go Outside The Box".

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Douglas Ferguson from College of Charleston, October 7, 2009 at 9 a.m.
2% is a respectable toe-hold. Don't expect it to stay a tiny sliver of viewing. DVR penetration was 2% a couple years after its introduction and the mantra was "no big deal." Now DVRs stand at 33 percent penetration and very few people are whistling in the dark anymore.
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Phil Leigh from Inside Digital Media, Inc., October 7, 2009 at 2:02 p.m.

Surveys like this *repeatedly* miss the point that consumers are discovering that they can watch the laptop computer videos *on the TV screen* merely by connecting the laptop to the TV. Generally, only the uninitiated assume the set-up is too complex for the average consumer as the instructional video linked below demonstrates.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a611o2wW9o