The number of Americans watching mobile video jumped 70% from 2Q08 to 2Q09, and Americans who view video online watched 46% more compared with the previous year, according to Nielsen's latest A2/M2 Three Screen Report, which measures video consumption on TVs, computers, and mobile devices.


But Americans didn't reduce the number of hours they spent watching TV: Viewing actually increased slightly (1.5%) from 2Q08 to 2Q09. 

Americans are also watching more timeshifted TV each month compared with a year ago (7 hrs. 16 min. vs. 6hrs. 5 min.), Nielsen found. Some 30% of US homes now have DVRs, it said.

Video Multitasking

As of June 2009, 57% of consumers watch TV and go online simultaneously at least once a month, on average spending 2 hrs. 39 min. per month on such video multitasking.

"Though this two-screen, simultaneous usage amounts to just 3% of their TV viewing, it already represents more than a quarter of their at-home internet usage (28%). This simultaneous activity is one reason we see continued growth of both Internet and TV consumption," says the Three Screen Report:

Other findings:

  • There are more TVs than inhabitants in an average American home: 2.86 TVs vs. 2.5 people per household in 2009. Moreover, 54% of people have 3+ TV sets in their home.
  • Adults 18-24 watch five times more video online than adults 65+: 5+ hrs. vs. a little over 1 hr. per month.
  • The number of children (2-11) online has increased 18% year over year, compared with 10% growth for the number of those 2+.
  • More than 15 million Americans said they watched online content on a mobile device in Q209, an increase of 70% compared with the previous year—the largest annual growth to date.
  • Americans are more likely to watch short-form video on their computers and TV network content on their mobile phones.

About the data: All cited data comes from Nielsen's latest A2/M2 Three Screen Report (vol. 5, 2Q09). Nielsen's A2/M2 Three Screens Reports provide the results from quarterly analyses from Nielsen's Anywhere Anytime Media Measurement Initiative (A2/M2).

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Video Consumption, Multitasking Continue to Rise

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