In a trend that appears to defy media planning logic, if not actual physics, America's consumption of TV continues to expand, despite the expansion of other multimedia options. In an update to its
quarterly "State of the Media" reports, Nielsen Co. indicates that U.S. consumption of television continues to expand, albeit with a little help from a frenemy: the DVR.
The rate of TV
consumption is, " essentially flat compared to the same period a year ago," Nielsen said, adding that, "the emergence of the DVR as a widely distributed device has changed viewing
behaviors in many homes.
"The average person living in a DVR home watched 24.5 hours of DVR playback during this period," Nielsen continued. "Looking at demographic groups more
closely, the age group that watched the most television by DVR playback was viewers age 25-34. That demographic watched 29.5 hours of DVR playback per month."
While the number of Americans
watching TV during the second quarter of 2010 is up only 0.8% over the second quarter of 2009, the number watching time-shifted viewing has grown 18.4%.
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The result is that overall time spent
watching TV by Americans is essentially flat, as the amount of viewing done on a time-shifted basis continues to grow.
One thing that does not appear to be changing, according to Nielsen, is
that teens continue to consume the least amount of TV, while consumption is growing among older viewers.
Overall Usage Number of Users 2+
(in 000’s) – Monthly Reach |
---|
| Q2 2010 | Q1 2010 | Q2 2009 | % Diff Yr to Yr |
---|
Watching TV in the
home° | 286,648 | 286,225 | 284,306 | 0.82% |
Watching Timeshifted TV° | 97,914 | 94,599 | 82,677 | 18.43% |
Source: The Nielsen Company |