• by Mike Bloxham , Op-Ed Contributor, July 13, 2012

“Second-screening,” or the use of tablets and smartphones while watching TV, is on the rise. But have you ever wondered how that behavior breaks down by programming genre? To kick off “The Whole Story,” a new weekly series dimensionalizing how consumers use media during key moments in their lives, the Media Behavior Institute examines the role “second screens” are playing by TV programming type.

While consumers’ use of second-screen devices may or may not be explicitly related to program content, the potential to engage the audience with an effective call-to-action that supplements the primary screen experience exists to varying degrees by genre.

• Although sports events (as opposed to sports news/talk) delivers greater second-screening reach on both a daily (12%) and weekly (21%) basis, the margin by which it leads other genre is not significant.

• It remains to be seen if a different pattern of second screen reach will emerge as the sector develops. Will strongly narrative programming that engages an audience in a storyline take second place to programming such as sports, news, game shows and instruction/advice that offer obvious opportunities to explore additional information that complements onscreen content?

• The narrow daily and weekly reach of second-screening behaviors across genres is likely to indicate that despite excitement surrounding the subject, there are still relatively few second-screen experiences designed in relation to specific programs and channels marketed heavily with a view to driving traffic and revenue. This is likely to change in the coming months (with NBC’s Olympic coverage perhaps providing a spur to the market) and will be re-visited in future analyses.

• This analysis takes into account all uses of tablets and smartphones, not just the use related to video programming. This reflects the wide array of functions each device allows, whether interacting with content relating to programs being viewed or not.