Nielsen Total Audience Report Shows Drop in Live TV Viewing

NEW YORK: Live TV viewing per day for U.S. adults is averaging 4 hours and 7 minutes, down 2 percent from a year ago, according to Nielsen’s Q3 Total Audience Report.

The average for DVR/time-shifted TV is 48 minutes per day, which is relatively consistent with years past (48 minutes in Q3 2013 and 50 minutes in Q3 2014). U.S. consumers used multimedia devices for 49 minutes per day in the quarter, compared to 43 minutes in Q3 2014 and 39 minutes in Q3 2013. Time spent using apps on smartphones rose to 1 hour and 37 minutes from 1 hour and 33 minutes a year ago.

The report put the number of pay-TV homes at 100 million, down from 101 million a year ago. Wired cable homes dipped to 52.3 million from 53.6 million a year ago, while telcos picked up 135,000 subscribers for a total of 13.5 million. Satellite, with 34.6 million subs, showed a slight decline. SVOD penetration rose to 46 percent from 40 percent. DVR penetration was flat at 49 percent. The number of broadcast-only households in the quarter rose to 12.8 million from 12.2 million last year, and the number of households with broadband only increased to 3.6 million from 2.8 million.