Commentary
Timeshifting TV Viewers Shifting Up Fast
- by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, December 3, 2010
TV Usage Trends (Monthly Reach of Overall Users 2+ in 000s) | ||||
| 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, November 2010 | ||||
According to the research, the amount of television viewing in the U.S. remains high. In the second quarter of 2010, the average person watched more than 143 hours of television per month. This average is essentially flat compared to the same period a year ago.
TV Usage Trends: Q2 2010 (Monthly Time Spent in Hours:Minutes Per User 2+) | |||||
| Q2 2010 | Q1 2010 | Q2 2009 | % Diff Yr to Yr | Hrs:Min Diff Yr to Yr |
Watching TV in the home | 143:37 | 158:25 | 143:51 | -0.2% | -0:14 |
Watching Timeshifted TV (all TV homes)* | 9:27 | 9:36 | 8:02 | 17.7% | 1:25 |
DVR Playback (only in homes with DVRs) | 24:27 | 25:48 | 24:11 | 1.1% | 0:16 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, November 2010 | |||||
As in past periods, the lowest overall TV viewing is done by teens, with viewing increasing with each older age break. And women watch more television than men, with 54% of all TV viewing consumed by women.
TV Viewers (% of Total Users) | |||||||||
| Age Group | Gender | |||||||
2-11 | 12-17 | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-49 | 50-64 | 65+ | Male | Female | |
On TV | 10% | 6% | 8% | 12% | 22% | 24% | 18% | 46% | 54% |
Source: The Nielsen Company, November 2010 | |||||||||
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 1/2 hours of DVR playback during this period.
TV Usage Trends (Q2 2010 Monthly Time Spent in Hours:Minutes Per User 2+) | |||||
| Q2 2010 | Q1 2010 | Q2 2009 | % Diff Yr to Yr | Hrs:Min Diff Yr to Yr |
Watching TV in the home | 143:37 | 158:25 | 143:51 | -0.2% | -0:14 |
Watching Timeshifted TV (all TV homes)* | 9:27 | 9:36 | 8:02 | 17.7% | 1:25 |
DVR Playback (only in homes with DVRs) | 24:27 | 25:48 | 24:11 | 1.1% | 0:16 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, November 2010 | |||||
Looking at demographic groups more closely, viewers age 25-34 watched the most television by DVR playback at 29 1/2 hours per month.
Monthly TV Time Spent (Hours: Minutes Q2 2010) | ||||||||
| Age Group | |||||||
| 2-11 | 12-17 | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-49 | 50-64 | 65+ | All 2+ |
On Traditional TV | 107:32 | 103:46 | 113:54 | 130:21 | 145:06 | 173:40 | 196:21 | 143:37 |
Watching Timeshifted TV | 6:49 | 6:01 | 6:56 | 12:52 | 12:15 | 10:56 | 6:02 | 9:27 |
DVR Playback (only in homes with DVRs) | 16:13 | 15:50 | 19:30 | 29:29 | 28:31 | 28:45 | 23:37 | 24:27 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, November 2010 | ||||||||
Overall blacks spent the most time per month watching TV and Asian-Americans spent the least. However, whites spent the most time per month watching timeshifted TV and Hispanics spent the least. Whites also spent the most monthly time watching DVR playback, while Asian-Americans spent the least
TV Audience Composition (Q2 2010 Monthly Time Spent By Ethnicity & Race) | ||||
| White | Black | Hispanic | Asian American |
On Traditional TV | 138:56 | 199:06 | 126:08 | 92:06 |
Watching Timeshifted TV | 10:36 | 6:32 | 5:57 | 6:47 |
DVR Playback (only in homes with DVRs) | 25:31 | 21:04 | 22:09 | 19:22 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, November 2010 | ||||
Source: The Nielsen Company. Based on Total Users of each Media.
- TV viewing patterns in the U.S. tend to be seasonal, with TV usage higher in the winter months and lower in the summer months, sometimes leading to a decline in quarter to quarter usage
- Traditional TV and Timeshifted TV viewing estimates are based on persons in TV Households (292 million); DVR Playback viewing estimates are based on persons in DVR Households (110 million)
For additional information, please visit Nielsen here.
Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.
110 divided by 292 is only 37.7% national DVR penetration but local meters report higher penetration (41%) (http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=133321)
I can think of a few possible contributing factors Douglas:
* the 41% penetration could be household penetration whereas the 37.7% is person penetration - if DVRs are more prevalent in smaller households that could contribute
* the 41% could be 'most recent' estimate and the 37.7% could be 'annual average' - for example, here in Australia our 'official estiamtes' (based on survey annual averages) are always lower than the current penetration rates in the TV ratings panel
Just some thought starters ...
Of all the new media features, time shifted TV has the most consumer benefit. 3D TV is a yawner. HD is nice - but the thin and lightweight sets are even more important.
So, it's not surprising that this is what consumers want. What's interesting is that ARF research also shows that time shifted viewing has NOT decreased advertising effectiveness. Perhaps because you can reach your target consumer even if they're not watching live.
All-in-all, this shift seems a good thing.