Nielsen: Americans Watch More TV, Smartphones on Rise

MediaPost News' MediaDaily News
by David Goetzl, Friday, June 11, 2010, 11:16 AM

A new periodic Nielsen three-screen report shows the penetration of devices equipped for video viewing has risen notably over the past year, giving programmers more real estate to generate consumer hunger. Plus, with the traditional "big screen" at home, people continue to spend more time watching.

Using figures from the January-March period, Americans on average spent two more hours a month watching TV versus the same period a year ago. The figure came in at an average of 158 hours and 25 minutes this year -- up from 156 hours and 24 minutes in 2009.

Broadband penetration stood at 63.5% among Americans ages 2 and up in the first quarter, up from 60.7% in 2009. Even more significant could be a rapid rise in smartphones: among people 13-plus, the figure went from 16% a year ago to 22% -- passing 20% for the first time.

Still, as programmers have more nontraditional distribution options, there appears to be a struggle to find breakout content for the emerging platforms. On average in the January-March period, Americans watched 3 hours and 10 minutes of video on the Internet each month, barely up from 3 minutes a year ago. The first-quarter figure was also down from the last three months of 2009.

In the mobile arena, video viewing was flat year-over-year, at a monthly average of 3 hours and 37 minutes.

One potential upside: as networks like NBC target multitaskers with their Olympic programming, Nielsen found that people using the TV and the Web at the same time grew about 10% year-over-year. The average of 3 hours and 21 minutes last year increased to 3 hours and 41 minutes in the first quarter of 2010.

DVRs proved a mixed bag for programmers because of ad-skipping risks, yet provided an opportunity to build viewership. DVR penetration is closing in on 40% (at 36.2%) -- up from 30.9% in the first quarter of 2009. The report shows average monthly time watching TV in time-shifted mode up from 8 hours and 22 minutes in 2009's first quarter, to 9 hours and 36 minutes in 2010.

Programmers counting on HD programming to boost viewing may take heart: The number of homes able to view -- although not necessarily receiving -- HD content soared from 32% in 2009 to 47.9% this year.