Real-Time TV Watching Small Part Of Overall Viewing

by Wayne Friedman , October 10, 2013

Real-time TV viewing and social media interactions are growing -- but still a small piece of overall U.S. TV viewership.
Around 15% to 17% of TV viewers are having real-time conversations about TV, according to an analysis of studies from eMarketer.

In June, Nielsen said 21% of U.S. TV viewers “read conversations about a program on a social network” in analyzing the behavior of tablet owners. Nielsen said this was about the same for smartphone users -- at 18%. Other research from Nielsen showed that 8% “write blurbs on the program you are watching.”

Hub Research, back in April, similarly said 17% have “read comments on Facebook or Twitter about a show.” This research came from a survey base of TV viewers.

During the same month, the NPD Group says 14.8% “discussed [a] show on social network.” It also said 9.4% “followed stream of comments."

More interaction is coming, says eMarketer, because Twitter is making TV partnerships a key focus, both for users and marketers, as well as Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings.

It also says Facebook “is further behind, but the company is expanding the use of hashtags and other features to show users how much real-time conversation is taking place on the service.”

real-time, trends, tv

5 comments about "Real-Time TV Watching Small Part Of Overall Viewing".

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Edmund Singleton from Winstion Communications, October 11, 2013 at 11:19 a.m.
Last year I wrote that my tablet is always in the room with me while watching television, then I realized that I was missing and understanding half the show...
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Edmund Singleton from Winstion Communications, October 12, 2013 at 7:29 a.m.

It is as old as the scriptures, one cannot fully serve two masters at the same time...

Nitin Narang from mediaentertainmentinfo, October 12, 2013 at 9:36 a.m.

Sports and News is real-time and most associated with social networking

Michael Massey from Clickit Digital, October 14, 2013 at 6:58 a.m.

Viewers are reading and writing about their favorite TV shows. Is that while they are watching live or through another delivery system? And is that increasing the ratings to drive more revenue?

Edmund Singleton from Winstion Communications, October 15, 2013 at 12:54 p.m.

I would think that every comment sent may or may not be a rating point of some sort...it must be counted somewhere by someone or else why are we invited to comment in real time...?