Users of new video devices still watch traditional TV

New research from Horowitz Associates finds that four in 10 consumers watch broadband/mobile TV at least once monthly. Even so, the vast majority of video viewing time is still spent watching traditional TV sets.

Data from Horowitz Associates' annual Broadband Content and Services (BCS) survey of 800 Internet users revealed that 44% watched actual, not user generated, TV content at least once monthly, including viewing online and on handheld devices.

Portending future growth of viewing on alternative platforms, incidence of TV consumption on the computer/ handheld devices is already ubiquitous among young people, with 82% of 15-17 year olds surveyed viewing at least monthly. On handheld devices alone, half (48%) of online young people surveyed report watching TV content at least monthly, doubling from 24% last year.

Consumption of TV content on alternative platforms varies by genre, with news topping the chart among adult Internet users, and music videos topping the chart among 15-17 year-olds. Sports, kids' content, and movies are the genres least likely to be viewed on a platform other than traditional TV.

While incidence and sampling of alternative TV platforms has apparently reached mass market proportions, the actual percent of TV content consumed on alternative platforms remains small. According to the Horowitz study, of all the hours Internet users say they spend watching TV programs, about 4% of TV time is on a platform other than a TV set – 2% on a PC/laptop and 2% on a handheld – with the vast majority (96%) still consumed via the traditional television platform.

"It's important to keep in perspective that when all is said and done, consumers are still spending only a very small amount of their total TV time on alternative platforms," notes Adriana Waterston, VP of Marketing for the research firm. "But, we anticipate that multiplatform TV viewing will continue to grow – especially among young people – as the technology improves towards a more authentic and convenient TV experience, and with programmers and aggregators actively promoting themselves on these platforms."

RBR-TVBR observation: There’s lots of opportunity for broadcasters with broadband Internet and new mobile devices. Convenience is important. People want content to be available to them wherever they happen to be. Still, when taking the time to watch any sort of long-form video, people are always going to prefer a large screen to a small one.

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