• by Ross Fadner , October 5, 2005

African-American households own more and larger TVs than other demographic groups, and nearly half claim to spend "much" of their family time in front of the television, according to estimates released Tuesday by Knowledge Networks.

African Americans are also more likely to own cell phones with Internet capabilities, while white households have a greater penetration of household PCs and home broadband Internet access.

The findings, which come from the latest installment of Knowledge Networks' "Ownership and Trend Report," also show that 62 percent of African-American households have more than two TVs, compared to 51 percent among whites and 44 percent among Hispanics.

Moreover, half of African-American households reported having TV sets larger than 30 inches, versus 44 percent for whites and 41 percent for Hispanics.

Despite a steady rise in consumer consumption of other media like cell phones and the Internet, the report says that 57 percent of African-American and Hispanic households and 53 percent of white households claim that watching television is still their favorite way to relax. What's more, 50 percent of Hispanic homes and 45 percent of African-American homes said that "much" of their family time is spent in front of the TV, compared to just 29 percent of white households.

Internet-enabled cell phones are also reaching a greater percentage of African-American households than other demographics, said David C. Tice, Knowledge Networks/SRI vice president, who gleaned more "Ownership and Trend Report" data for MediaDailyNews. Forty-one percent of African-American homes reported Internet-enabled cell phones, compared to 30 percent for whites and 27 percent for Hispanics.

Instead, the data suggests that white households are spending more time in front of their computers--70 percent of white households have home PCs, versus 55 percent for African Americans and 47 percent for Hispanics. White households also have greater broadband penetration--30 percent--versus 19 percent for African-American homes and 16 percent for Hispanics.

Knowledge Networks' Tice noted how home technology choices are important indicators for marketers as to how and where to reach consumers. In choosing their home media devices, Tice said, consumers are also effectively controlling what marketing messages they consume.

Paul Parton, strategic planner for Brooklyn Brothers, a creative shop, said the Knowledge Networks study is "too blunt" to be effective for marketers. "The implication is that there's a cultural difference [between these groups]," he said, adding that breaking down income or age demographics would be more useful. "We would never think about an audience that broadly, he said; "marketers have to think more individually about people and their relationship to brands."