Nielsen Reports TV, Internet and Mobile Usage Among Americans

Nielsen Reports TV, Internet and Mobile Usage Among Americans

Under 35's Watch Video on Internet & Mobile Phones More Than Over 35's; Traditional TV Viewing Continues to Grow

NEW YORK, July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nielsen Company today released the first comparable U.S. figures showing video and TV usage across the 'three screens' - Television, Internet and Mobile devices.

Nielsen's findings show that screen time of the average American continues to increase with TV users watching more TV than ever before (127 hrs, 15 min per month), while also spending 9% more time using the Internet (26 hrs, 26 min per month) from last year. At the same time, a small but growing number of Internet and mobile phone users are watching video online (2 hrs, 19 min per month), as well as using their cell phones to watch video (3 hrs, 15 min per month).

                             Time Spent in Hours:Minutes                                Per User 2+, Per Month                                         May 08         May 07       % Diff    Watching TV in the home*             127:15         121:48           4%   Watching Timeshifted TV*               5:50           3:44          56%   Using the Internet**                  26:26          24:16           9%   Watching Video on Internet**           2:19            n/a          n/a   Mobile Video Subscribers Watching   Video on a Mobile Phone^               3:15            n/a          n/a        Source: The Nielsen Company     

The U.S. television landscape is growing increasingly more complex and digital. As of May 2008, more than 65% of U.S. homes receive digital cable and satellite combined. These digital TV homes receive nearly 160 channels. In addition, 25% and 35% of U.S. homes have DVR and Video on Demand respectively.

"Commercial television is alive and well - growing 1% year over year - despite the rapid adoption of other platforms," said John Burbank, chief marketing officer for The Nielsen Company. "Moreover, timeshifting represents less than 5% of total viewing."

Two hundred twenty million Americans have Internet access at home and/or work and 73%, or 162 million went online in May. Watching video on the Internet is no longer a novelty; 119 million unique viewers viewed 7.5 billion video streams in May 2008. In addition as of Q1 2008, 91 million Americans (36% of all mobile phone subscribers in the U.S.) owned a video-capable phone.

"Web video is changing the definition of the Internet for those under the age of 24. Those under 24 use the Internet less than older users but spend a greater percent of time viewing video. For instance, children 2-11 spend relatively little time on the Internet - just 4:58 vs 38:47 for adults 35-44. But much more of their time is likely spent watching video than checking email or traditional websites." Burbank concluded.

                                       Time Spent in Hours:Minutes                                               May 2008                  K2-11 T12-17  A18-24  A25-34  A35-44  A45-54  A55-64   A65+   On    Traditional    TV*          87:00  89:09  103:27  118:59  124:01  145:03  159:59  177:50   Watching    Timeshifted    TV*           4:16   3:36    3:55    9:28    8:13    6:46    5:49    2:57   Using the    Internet**    4:58  12:01   12:18   29:00   38:47   33:52   34:44   26:01   Watching    Video on    Internet**    1:30   1:45    3:41    3:22    2:48    2:03    1:33    1:12   Mobile Video    Subscribers    Watching    Video on a    Mobile    Phone^        n/a^^ 05:25^^  3:02    3:36    2:53    2:53    2:10    n/a°        Source: The Nielsen Company     

Burbank continued, "While the number of mobile video users is relatively small at about 4 million, the video usage these early adopters report is impressive, perhaps due to "always available" mobile devices. It is an early indicator of how this technology is becoming more commonplace among mobile users."

To obtain a full copy of Nielsen's Three Screen Report, go to HYPERLINK "http://www.nielsen.com/pdf/3_Screen_Report_May08_FINAL.pdf" http://www.nielsen.com/pdf/3_Screen_Report_May08_FINAL.pdf. These figures will be updated quarterly and available to the public at www.nielsen.com.

FOOTNOTES FOR CHARTS ABOVE:

* TV includes live viewing plus any playback viewing; Timeshifted TV is playback primarily on a DVR but including playback on services like Start Over as well as playback from a DVD recorder.

** Internet figures are from home and work. Hours:minutes are based on the universe of persons who watch online video.

^ Survey results reported in April 2008, this is a Q1 2008 estimate of only those mobile subscribers that subscribe to and use video on their mobile phone, over the past 30 days.

^^ Nielsen Mobile's survey reports mobile video usage for those users 13 and older. Thus, 12-17 is T13-17 for all mobile data.

   ° A65+ base size too small to report mobile video hours:minutes     About The Nielsen Company  

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence (NetRatings and BuzzMetrics), mobile measurement (Nielsen Mobile), trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

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Source: The Nielsen Company

CONTACT: Gary Holmes, +1-646-654-8975

Web Site: http://www.nielsen.com/
http://www.nielsen.com/pdf/3_Screen_Report_May08_FINAL.pdf

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Profile: International Entertainment