Report: 45-54 Demo Consume the Most Content

NEW YORK: A new study released by the Council for Research Excellence (CRE) has found that young baby boomers—those aged between 45 and 54—spend more time with media platforms than any other demographic, at an average of 9.5 hours per day across live TV and DVRs, computers, mobile phones, games and other screens.

The $3.5-million year-long research initiative, called the Video Consumer Mapping (VCM) study, was conducted by Ball State University’s Center for Media Design (CMD) and Sequent Partners. It assessed consumer exposure to content on traditional television (including live TV as well as DVD/VCR and DVR playback); computers; mobile devices and "all other screens" (including display screens in out-of-home environments, in-cinema movies and even GPS navigation units). The VCM study generated data covering more than three-quarters of a million minutes or a total of 952 observed days. It is being billed as the largest and most extensive observational study of media usage ever conducted.

While the 45 to 54 set are clocking in 9.5 hours of daily screen time, the average for other demos is relatively similar at 8.5 hours. Internet video tends to take up a small proportion (about 0.5 percent) at an average time of just 2 minutes. TV in the home still commands the greatest amount of viewing, even among those aged 18 to 24. The total average daily live TV consumption for adults 18-plus was 309.1 minutes. The report also found that TV users were exposed to, on average, 72 minutes per day of TV ads and promos. In addition, early DVR adopters spent much more time with DVR playback than newer DVR owners. "Environmental" exposure outside the home, while still relatively small at just 2.8 percent of total video consumption today, could nearly double during the next few years. 

"This landmark research study makes a significant contribution to our understanding of how consumers go about accessing content across all platforms within the context of their daily lives," said CRE’s media consumption and engagement committee chair, Shari Anne Brill. "It also considerably advances the Council’s thinking regarding audience measurement priorities. Nothing of this magnitude has ever been attempted before and we expect that our entire industry will benefit from this game-changing work for years to come."