The new media revolution may be coming, but it hasn’t quite taken over yet. For all the fuss over the plethora of digital media devices, the TV screen is still by far the most popular media source for all consumers, both young and old, according to a landmark study commissioned by Nielsen-backed Council for Research Excellence.

According to the study, on average, consumers spend 67 percent of their daily media time with TV (including DVRs, DVDs and games), about 2 minutes a day watching video via the Internet, and only a fraction of a minute watching mobile video. Even among 18-24-year-olds, the average amount of time spent watching live TV (209.9 minutes) surpassed the total amount of computer screen time (169.5 minutes).

Nielsen, which founded the CRE four years ago to help guide the industry’s measurement priorities amid a shifting media landscape, spent $3.5 million for the study (Nielsen also is the parent company of Mediaweek). Conducted by Ball State University’s Center for Media Design and Sequent Partners, the findings are based on researchers’ daylong observations of 450 former Nielsen panelists, making it the largest study of its kind.

The findings provide an eye-opening benchmark for the media and advertising industries that are struggling to understand consumer media behavior for media plans. “Technology has been changing so rapidly. Increasingly our clients are frightened by the onset of the DVR. There’s been talk that the 30-second spot is dead and that young people don’t watch TV anymore,” said Shari Anne Brill, chair of CRE’s media consumption and engagement committee and senior vp, director of programming for Carat. “We wanted to verify or dispel those myths.”

Contrary to popular belief, younger consumers are not the biggest consumers of media. The biggest consumers of media are those in the 45-54 age group, dubbed the “digital boomer.” Digital boomers spend 9.5 hours with all four screens (TV, computer, mobile and out-of-home) compared to 8.5 hours for all other age groups. Multitasking is also not limited to the young. Concurrent media exposure was the same for all age groups.



“We always overestimate the short-term impact of technology and underestimate the long-term impact,” said Mike Bloxham, director of insight and research for Ball State’s CMD.
“This gives us a reality check.”

No doubt network programmers are breathing a sigh of relief that DVR playback isn’t nearly the bogey man for commercials many commonly believed. The average adult spent 309.1 minutes watching live TV and only 14.6 minutes playing back programming via DVR. DVD use was higher at 22.9 minutes. On average TV users were exposed to roughly an hour a day of advertising and promotions. “The data clearly disputes the belief that consumers are avoiding most of the live TV commercials,” said Bill Moult, founding partner for Sequent.

Other findings pointed to the shifting role of media. The computer has replaced radio as the No. 2 media activity. While reach is similar for both, 77 percent for radio and 75 percent for the computer, consumers spend on average 2 hours and 33 minutes on the computer, but spend only 1 hour and 49 minutes with radio.