TV Dominant Among Kids 2 to 11

NEW YORK: Despite the emergence of new viewing devices and media, TV is still the dominant platform among all children ages 2 to 11, according to Nielsen, with usage at an eight-year high when including DVR playback or timeshifted viewing. 

Kids 6 to 11 are notching up more than 28 viewing hours per week, primarily watching TV. The same group spends close to 2.5 hours watching DVDs or playing video games, with an additional hour dedicated to DVR and only 18 minutes spent with the VCR. 

Younger children, 2 to 5, spend close to 25 hours a week with the TV, 4.5 hours with DVDs and 1.5 hours with DVR offerings. Video games account for around one hour of usage among the 2-to-5 set, while VCRs account for 45 minutes. 

A trend among both younger and older kids is that live entertainment is preferred over timeshifted viewing alternatives. More than 97 percent of TV viewing is done live for those 2 to 11, verses same day or other playback options. Kids 2 to 5 watched more commercials, 50 percent, than any other age group when they did opt for playback programming. Those 6 to 11 took in around the same number of commercials as adults, 44 percent. Overall, kids’ programming accounts for some 28 percent of total free VOD content. 

Almost half of children aged 6 to 11 are using the Internet, while only one-fifth of those 2 to 5 are spending time online. For all children ages 2 to 11, results are evenly split, with nearly half using TV only and a little more than half spending time with both TV and the Internet.