Commentary

Just an Online Minute... Update on Streamies

Arbitron Inc. and Edison Media Research today released a new study, which shows that consumers who have tuned to Internet broadcasts in the past 30 days, also known as "Monthly Streamies," are a great target for digital device marketers.

The study, entitled "Internet and Multimedia 10: The Emerging Digital Consumer," revealed that Monthly Streamies, are significantly more interested in digital devices than the general population. Twenty-nine percent of Monthly Streamies are "very interested" in plasma or flat panel television sets versus 17% of all Americans. Also, more than one in five Monthly Streamies (22%) are very interested in High Definition Television Sets (HDTV) compared with 12% of all Americans.

The study also reports that the "digital divide" in Internet usage appears to be narrowing. Overall, 75% of the total population now has access to the Internet from any location compared with 74% of African Americans and 65% of Hispanic Americans. Also, the "digital divide" is widest with home and work Internet access. Nearly half (48%) of Hispanics and 60% of African Americans have Internet access at home or work compared with 70% among whites. However, Arbitron and Edison Media Research report that public libraries and schools have done an exceptional job in providing more access to ethnic constituencies. Over a third (34%) of African Americans and nearly a quarter (24%) of Hispanics access the Internet at public libraries compared with 19% of White Americans. Also, nearly a third (32%) of African Americans and nearly a quarter (24%) of Hispanics access the Internet from schools compared with a quarter (25%) of White Americans.

The Internet and Multimedia 10 study also reveals that the number of Americans who have super-fast broadband Internet connections in their homes has more than doubled in the last two years, from 7% in January 2001 to 18% in January 2003. Average time spent online per week among those with broadband is 13 hours compared to eight hours per week for those who use dial-up. Notably, between TV, radio, newspapers and the Internet, those with broadband allocate a much larger share of their daily media time with the Internet (27%) compared to those with dial-up connections (17%).

The study also found that consumer satisfaction with Internet audio is on the rise, with 35% of Internet audio listeners reporting that they "love it" or "like it" compared to 26% in July 2001.

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