According to the latest Nielsen Cross-Platform Report, Americans spent more than 34 hours per week in front of a TV set in Q2, 2012, where they watched traditional TV, DVDs and played games. Most of the content from these activities was delivered to the TV set in a traditional manner-- over broadcast, cable, satellite or telco connection-- and a growing amount was delivered by Internet connection. Americans also added another five hours in front of the computer screen using the Internet, or watching video content, and an increasing amount of time using smartphones this quarter.
Tablets and smartphones are proving to be new, novel and potentially necessary utilities, aiding Americans in connecting with the people and content they desire. These devices enable a new trans-generational community of connected consumers that crosses age, gender, race and ethnic lines to truly participate in the multitasking that used to be reserved for the young, or tech savvy elite. Smartphones now have a market penetration greater than 50 percent, and tablets are already in nearly 20 percent of US TV homes.
While tablets and smartphones offer the freedom of mobility, close to 40 percent of Americans now use their tablets or smartphones while watching TV at least once a day, and twice as many do it at least once a month. Modernity, in its new form, enables myriad content access points. It's a fact of which Americans are taking full advantage. These devices are omnipresent, and not just among the youth.
Today, more than 39 percent of people use their smartphone at least once a day while watching TV, 62 percent say they do this multiple times a week and 84 percent do at least once a month.
