• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, June 26, 2013

Local and national news is the primary form of programming being viewed by mobile users accessing broadcast TV via mobile devices, according to estimates released this morning from TV audience measurement firm Rentrak. The data, which comes from Dyle, a new service enabling mobile users to access live broadcast TV signals on their handheld devices, indicates that news programming represents more than half of all viewing on mobile devices.

Rentrak did not disclose the time frame being measured in the analysis or what the sample size, the composition, or specific methodology was, but said the findings also show that the average Dyle mobile TV user tunes in for more than 20 minutes per usage daily.

The findings suggests that mobile technology is a potentially powerful medium for extending the reach and vitality of broadcast TV, especially during scheduled and breaking news cycles when on-the-go users cannot access conventional television.

The study found that mobile broadcast TV usage “spikes during critical news cycles,” specifically citing the manhunt that followed the Boston Marathon bombings, during which total viewing minutes were nearly double (+96%) the same period the previous week.

The analysis also suggests that peak-time patterns are very different for mobile broadcast TV usage than in-home television viewing. Not surprisingly, daytime viewership between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. represents the dominant share of mobile TV usage, with 45% of mobile TV usage occurring during that time period, compared with only 36% of in-home viewing during those hours.