Multiple Screens increase television viewing
Nielsen recently released their 3rd Qtr Three Screen Report. The immersion of the three screens are having an greater impact each quarter. The most important thing to note is the year over year changes. In-home television viewing declined only slightly, but how people are watching is changing drastically. There was a 21% increase in time spent viewing time-shifted television, which accounts for technology such as DVR’s & TiVo. Although the total time was only about 31 minutes this number is expected to continually increase. The other increase was in the online video category that saw a 35% increase in time spent viewing. This dramatic surge could be accredited to traditional media websites promoting their own online television platforms such as Hulu.
For all the concerns about the new Three Screens, it seems that the vast majority of television is still being watched at home in real time- a whopping 31 hours per week! That is 8 times the amount of time viewers are spending online and 60 times the amount they are spending watching time-shifted programs. I should note that year over year, online video watching has increased by a little under an hour a week.
Reviewing this information marketers should continue to evaluate new media opportunities, but keep their traditional media up to par. They will stand out more when advertising in online and mobile airings, but the audiences are still too small to make a large impact. To continue reaching the larger audiences good old fashioned TV is still the place to be.
