• by Wayne Friedman , June 3, 2013

As it turns out, mobile TV-video usage isn't all that mobile.

A new study from the Nielsen-backed Council for Research Excellence shows that 82% of tablet TV/video usage and 64% for smartphone TV/video usage occurs in the home.

The main reason among consumers is home convenience. Mobile TV usage was not intended to avoid advertising. According to the study, 49% indicated that they used mobile devices for TV-video viewing because it was "more convenient." Thirteen percent cited that they wanted to "watch multiple episodes," and only 5% pointed to "fewer ads" as the reason.

Looking at all TV viewing, users viewed TV drama (31% of tablet "viewing occasions" and 27% of smartphone viewing occasions) and TV comedies (20% of tablet occasions, 24% of smartphone occasions).

One example of the contrast between TV-set viewing and mobile TV-video viewing: TV news programming comprised 31% of TV-set viewing among study users. That's compared to 11% of TV news content on tablets and 15% and smartphones.

The study -- which looked at nearly 6,000 participants and more than 393,000 TV "viewing occasions" in three markets: Atlanta, Phoenix and Kansas City -- was conducted by Boston-based market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey for the CRE.

Although 41 million U.S. users watch some video on mobile devices, the study says this viewing remains a small part of overall TV consumption.