Nielsen Report: Viewers Still Prefer TV Sets to Websites

ALEXANDRIA/NEW YORK, July
1: While online viewing is on the rise, 94 percent of cable/satellite TV
subscribers in the U.S. still prefer watching content on traditional TV sets,
according to study conducted by The Nielsen Company for the Cable &
Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM).

The study reveals that
about 35 percent of adult broadband users surveyed had watched at least one
show originally broadcast on TV via the Internet. For those who sought out
online video content, 87 percent watched shows directly from a network’s
website. And 82 percent of those who watched video content online reported that
they went on to the Internet to find a specific show they had missed on TV. In
addition to using the Internet as a catch-up service, 40 percent of respondents
said they went online to get more info on a show’s stars and upcoming episodes.

Broadband users surveyed
noted that they preferred shorter video clips for online consumption. Movie
trailers (53 percent), user-generated content (45 percent), music videos and
general news segments (37 percent), comedy programs (31 percent) and sports
clips (31 percent) were the top choices out of 17 categories.

—By Mansha Daswani