New technologies see US video consumption continue to rise
Over the last two years, US ownership of HDTVs, DVRs and smartphones has increased at double- and triple-digit rates, according to the latest edition of The Nielsen Company’s Three Screen Report.
More than half of US TV households now have HDTV, up 189% from the first quarter of 2008, and more than one-third now have DVRs, up 51%, Nielsen found.
And it added that while mobile online video viewing is still fairly limited, year over year growth is notable at 51.2%.
TV still remains the preferred screen of choice though, with viewers watching 2 more hours of TV per month year on year in the first quarter of 2010.
They are also continuing to simultaneously use the internet while watching TV, with the average time spent doing both activities up 9.8% to 3 hours and 41 minutes.
The report also reveals that:
- As of Q1 2010 the 292 million people in the US with TVs spend on average 158 hours, 25 minutes each month tuning into television.
- Q1 2010 data shows that 138 million people watching video on the internet spent on average 3 hours, 10 minutes during the month doing so.
- As of 1Q10 the 20.3 million people who watch mobile video in the US spend on average 3 hrs, 37 minutes each month watching video on a mobile phone.
According to a recent forecast from Analysys Mason, the number of European IPTV subscriptions will grow 92% to 29.6 billion by 2015 – up from 15.4 million in 2009 – making it the fastest-growing TV platform.