Nielsen Cross-Platform Report

According to Nielsen’s Q2 2014 Cross-Platform Report, younger viewers are watching less traditional television than in the past, but they’re consuming more overall video content. The buoying effect of digital video on overall content consumption takes place among older viewers, too. While the amount of time that consumers 50-64 years old spend per day viewing traditional TV is resilient, these viewers are adapting to new ways to view, which has added 10 minutes to their overall viewing time since 2012.

Despite the exponentially growing role of mobile in peoples’ everyday lives, ad spend isn’t keeping pace. That’s because the amount of time people spend with mobile media is disproportionate to the advertising share that mobile attracts: People spend more than 38 hours per month on their phones, according to Nielsen’s 1Q 2014 Cross-Platform Report, yet mobile comprises only about 4% of total ad spending.

Whether it’s watching last night’s drama, last season’s premiere of a sitcom or an original series that doesn’t even air on terrestrial TV, Americans are digitally smitten with discovering, catching up on and accessing content on their own terms. And it’s this content availability that has helped power a sharp video viewing curve, as mobile device penetration, coupled with on-demand options, continue to grow, and as viewers spend more time watching.

In the spectrum of evolving media, nothing is growing faster than the adoption of portable devices and the consumption of content on these devices. However, traditional TV is thriving as viewers continue engage with their sets by seeking out entertainment and information that appeals to them. In fact, traditional TV viewing has grown year-over-year among the total population, led by African-American households. These households are also increasing their consumption of mobile and digital video.

In pushing to account for all TV viewing, some network executives want to look beyond seven days of time-shifted viewing — but they might not see big results. Nielsen, in a new Cross-Platform Report release, says 5% of viewing happens beyond seven days of time-shifting for thetop 10 shows.

The amount of time Americans spend watching “TV” via a traditional television set continues to decline, according to the latest edition of Nielsen’s quarterly Cross Platform Report. While television remains the overwhelming means most people use to watch “television,” usage of the medium declined 1.7% over the past year.

The average American watches nearly five hours of video each day, 98% of which they watch on a traditional TV set, according to the Nielsen Cross-Platform Report. However,  game consoles have become strategically positioned as a secondary gateway to TV content, and can now be found in 45% of TV homes, an increase of 3% over last year.