• by Wayne Friedman , March 26, 2020

There is more evidence that overall TV viewing continues to climb in the wake of COVID-19 due to people staying at home.

Nielsen says total TV usage for the period of March 16 through March 22 is up 18% compared to the prior week.

In that period, the media research company says, there was an average 24% Total Use of Television (TUT) of U.S. people with TV sets who watched traditional TV (live or time-shifted) or via connected devices, including smart TV apps, gaming consoles, or other devices.

The biggest demographic gains are seen among teens 12-17 -- up 43% to 13.9% in Total Use of Television (TUT).

Among other demographic groups, persons 2-11 are 31% higher (17.9 TUT), while 18- to-24-year-olds are up 29% (13.6% TUT); 18- to-34-year-olds have added 23% (16.4%); 18- to-49-year-olds have gained 20% (19.4); adults 25-54 are 18% higher (22.4%); and those 55 years and up have improved 12% (34.4%).

Looking specifically at gaming consoles, teen usage grew 59%.

Live TV viewing usage was up 14% to 15.2% TV usage; time-shifted TV, 10% more to 2.3%; DVD playback, up 28% to 0.4%; video game console use, up 35% to 1.6.%; and internet-connected devices, up 28% to 4.5%.