Report: Recession Drives Increase in TV Viewing

NEW YORK: The number of Americans choosing TV as their favorite type of media increased by 26 percent this year, according to the new Deloitte State of the Media Democracy survey, with the recession seeing consumers turning more to in-home entertainment.

The fourth edition of State of the Media Democracy examined the preferences of 2,046 consumers aged 14 to 75 in the U.S. More than 70 percent of respondents ranked watching TV in their top three favorite media activities. When ranked alongside activities such as surfing the web, listening to music or reading, watching TV was placed at the top of the list by 34 percent of consumers. This is more than double the 14 percent that placed Internet surfing as their top media activity.

While watching their favorite shows, 86 percent of respondents prefer their TV set—live, DVR or on demand—with less than 10 percent saying they prefer watching the same content online.

Meanwhile, 72 percent of respondents had been forced to slow down on purchases of other entertainment products, such as movies, DVDs, CDs, video games and sporting events.

In a typical seven-day week, Americans are watching almost 18 hours of programming on their home set, up from less than 16 hours last year. The increase was the biggest for Millennials (those aged 14 to 26), with TV usage rising from 10.5 hours to almost 15 hours. The survey also found that 65 percent of respondents would like to be able to easily connect their home TV to the Internet so that they can view videos or downloaded content.

"Television content continues to fascinate Americans," said Ed Moran, Deloitte’s director of insights and innovation. "The recession has increased demand for in-home entertainment, with consumers choosing to invest in the enhancement of their TV experience. This dynamic, combined with new flat panel models that access content from the Internet, will further blur the lines between TV and the Internet."