Nielsen: TV Remains Most Popular Device with Consumers

NEW YORK: Despite the increasing number of media platforms, television maintains its stronghold as the most popular device, with 290 million Americans and 114.7 households owning at least one set, according to Nielsen’s new report on media usage.

The State of the Media: Consumer Usage Report also shows that 145 million Americans have digital cable, 129 million have a DVR and 95 million have a satellite service. Almost one in three U.S. TV households (35.9 million) owns four or more televisions.

In examining how people are watching TV/video, traditional linear television is still the strongest, with 288 million Americans ages 2-plus; 143 million cite the Internet; 111 million use time-shifted TV and 30 million use mobile.

The average weekly media time for Americans over the age of 2 is 32 hours and 47 minutes (32:47). The lowest figures are with the 12-to-17 set, at 22:24, and the highest is for those age 65-plus, at 46:16. The overall average for time spent weekly on the Internet using a computer is 3:58. Figures for viewing video on the Internet are 0:27 and video on mobile are 0:07.

The survey also finds that the majority of Hulu users (89 percent) are accessing the streaming service directly from their computer, and only 20 percent through a computer connected to a TV, 8 percent via video-game console and 2 percent through Internet-enabled TV. For Netflix users, 50 percent connect through a video-game console and 42 percent through the computer directly.