Commentary
TV Trends
- by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, May 6, 2011
Over the 2010-2011 TV season, several trends have emerged in what and how consumers are watching. A fact sheet from The Nielsen Company highlights these trends:
Total Day TV and Peripheral Usage by Race and Origin (Daily Hours: Min) | |||||
| Total U.S. | White | African American | Hispanic | Asian |
Total Use of TV | 5:11 | 5:02 | 7:12 | 4:35 | 3:14 |
Live TV | 4:17 | 4:05 | 6:16 | 3:54 | 2:34 |
DVR Playback | 0:24 | 0:27 | 0:20 | 0:14 | 0:17 |
DVD Playback | 0:15 | 0:15 | 0:18 | 0:14 | 0:12 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, April 2011 | |||||
Timeshifting continues to be a significant factor in how consumers watch TV. Overall 38% of TV households in the U.S. have a DVR. In Q4 2010, the heaviest timeshifters were:
- Adults 35-49, watching 3 hours 8 minutes of timeshifted TV a week.
- Teens ranging from age 12-17 watch the least amount of timeshifted TV per week, just 1 hour 31 minutes and the
- Adults age 18-24 are close behind, watching 1 hour 32 minutes of timeshifted TV per week.
As of February 2011, 28.8% of Hispanic TV households owned a DVR, whereas 36% of Asian TV households owned a DVR
In Q4 2010, 301 million Americans used a mobile phone; 24.7 million mobile subscribers watched video on a mobile phone, a 41% increase from last year. The growing popularity of mobile video is due, in part, to the rapid adoption of media-friendly mobile devices, including smartphones, which make up 30% of the marketplace.
Mobile subscribers on average watched 4 hours 20 minutes of mobile video a month (Q4 2010). Younger consumers ages 12-17 are the heaviest mobile video viewers, watching 7 hours 13 minutes of mobile video a month (Q4 2010).
143.9 million Americans viewed video online in January 2011, spending an average of 4 hours 39 minutes viewing video on PCs/laptops. 46% were female and 54% male
Online Video Viewers by Ethnicity:
- 77.9% are White
- 12.1% Hispanic
- 10.6% AfricanAmerican
- 7% Other
- 3.5% Asian
- 1% Native American
In January 2011, 40% of Americans active online (79.5 million consumers) visited TV network and broadcast media sites. During that same time, 49% of Social Networking & Blog Site visitors, also visited TV network and broadcast media sites. Social Networking & Blog Site visitors account for 151.7 million Americans.
Spending on TV grew 8% in 2010. Ad dollars spent in primetime specifically increased 6% from 2009 to $20 billion, accounting for 43% of spending. Ad dollars spent in primetime specifically increased 6% from 2009 to $20 billion, accounting for 43% of spending.
The 30-second commercial remains the television advertising standard in primetime, accounting for 53% of all commercials (2010). However, commercials are getting shorter; the number of commercials 30-seconds or less increased 12%, while the number of commercials 35 seconds or more decreased 6%.
Commercials that air during drama/ adventure shows generate the strongest brand recall, as consumers who are engaged in the programming also remain attentive during the commercials. Reality shows follow, with relatively stronger brand recall than sitcoms. Two exceptions are Asian Americans and younger viewers (ages 13-34), who remember the ads that air during reality shows better than sitcoms.
Summary of highlights:
- Timeshifting continues to be a significant factor in how consumers watch TV.
- Mobile Video viewing has increased 41% from last year
- Video online viewing continues to increase
- The TV audience for sports is expanding
- The audience overlap between visitors to network and broadcast media sites and social networking & blog sites is significant
- Television advertising spend was the largest medium for all ad spending in 2010
For more information on these TV viewing trends, and the complete PDF file, download the State of the Media report from 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.