• by Wayne Friedman , November 24, 2008

TV viewing rose 4.1% to 142 hours and 29 minutes per month in the third quarter--a hike of 5 hours and 35 minutes versus the same time period a year ago, according to The Nielsen Co. TV also was up in users by 1.6%, to 282.2 million per month in the third quarter over the same period last year.

While Internet usage also was up, the growth of time spent watching video was not as high as with traditional TV. Internet usage rose 5.7% to just over 27 hours per month, which amounts to one hour and 29 minutes more than a year ago.

Internet usage was just 19% of all traditional TV viewing, at 142 hours and 29 minutes. The Internet also witnessed its user base climb 4.2% to 159.9 million average users per month in the same period.

Watching video on the Internet still represents a fraction of the Internet's overall usage--just two hours and 31 minutes a month, compared to overall Internet usage of 27 hours and 18 minutes. Internet video monthly viewing--among those who watch Internet video--was just 1.4% of overall traditional TV viewing per month. Nielsen says its measurement of Internet usage was a combination of time at home and work.

Time-shifted TV viewing rocketed up nearly 53.5% to 6 hours and 32 minutes. The percentage of time-shifting users rose 35% higher, to 67.7 million monthly users.

In regard to nascent mobile video usage, Nielsen says some 10.2 million watched mobile video per month in the third quarter, with those who subscribe to a mobile video service now looking at three hours and 37 minutes of video--up from three hours and fifteen minutes in the second quarter of 2008.

For traditional TV viewing, viewers 65 and older watch more than 196 hours a month, the most of any age group. The lowest levels are with kids ages 2-11, at over 108 minutes a month.

The biggest Internet users are adults 35-44, at more than 37 hours. Watching Internet video is most popular among 18- to-24-year-olds, averaging three hours and 57 minutes per month.