Audio Video News

How much TV or video do you watch a day? Probably more than you think — perhaps way more, according to new research from the media gurus at Nielsen.

The firm’s respected Total Audience Report found U.S. adults spending about 11 hours a day interacting with different forms of media during the first three months of the year (Q1 2018), with more than half of that time spent watching video.

“Overall video use — time spent with a TV set, computer video, and using video focused app/web on smartphones/ tablets — nets out to almost six hours a day, with consumers picking the platform that best meets their needs for watching content,” the report said, noting that time spent with TV and digital video increased 11 minutes a day compared with the previous three-month period.

Watching via a TV-connected device accounted for 46 minutes — up 6 minutes over the previous period — while viewing video on a tablet increased 5 minutes a day. Watching video on a smartphone and viewing live/time-shifted TV each showed a modest increase of only 2 minutes.

Time spent across all media was up 19 minutes over the last three months of 2017, driven largely by more time spent with TV-connected devices (+5 minutes) and digital platforms (+13 minutes).

Although live/time-shifted TV viewing was more or less relatively flat, it still has a commanding presence at 4 hours and 46 minutes a day. Nielsen pointed out that seasonality plays a role with quarterly TV usage trends given the occurrence of sporting events such as the Super Bowl and the Olympics and as viewers transition from holiday breaks.

Digital usage across computers, smartphones, and tablets also played a key role with adult consumers who spent three hours and 48 minutes a day on these devices during the first three months of 2018; app/web usage on smartphones accounted for 62 percent of that time.

In other findings, Nielsen noted that…

• 92 percent of U.S. adults listen to radio each week, the highest reach across platforms

• Young adults 18-34 spend the largest percentage of time with TV-connected devices and digital devices compared to other demographics

• Two thirds of U.S. TV households have devices capable of streaming content to the TV set

• One out of 10 minutes of TV use in streaming-capable homes is streaming to the TV set

• Eight in 10 non-television households still view video content

• Black adults are the heaviest users of media overall

• Hispanics listen to more radio than other groups

• Asian Americans spend more time with computers and tablets than other groups

• Nearly 3 percent of TV homes subscribe to a virtual multichannel video programming distributor (or vMVPD that provides streaming access to linear television), which includes “skinny bundles”

• Almost 20 percent of consumers say they use a smart speaker in the household

“The way people consume content is vastly different from what it was five years ago, let alone 10 or 20,” said Peter Katsingris, senior VP, audience insights at Nielsen. “Consumers have the luxury of more options now than ever before. They can watch videos or listen to music on their smartphone and then just as easily engage with completely different content on their television or radio...Understanding the trends of who’s consuming content, what they’re consuming, and how are the foundations of the industry.”