• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, October 20, 2011

Fueled by ubiquitous access across digital media platforms, time-shifted viewing of television programing has surged 11% among all TV households since the second quarter of 2010, according to the latest installment of the so-called “Cross-Platform Report” being released to clients by Nielsen today.

Nielsen said the increase was due mainly to an increase in the penetration of digital video recorders, which jumped 13% from last year, and now stands at 39% of U.S. TV households.

“Americans 25-64 spend the most time watching time-shifted content, but Americans 65+ and kids 2-11 are catching up, with heightened growth in time spent in recent quarters,” Nielsen reports, adding, “Both groups experienced double-digit growth in time spent over last year, while those middle demographics remained relatively the same. White consumers are the most likely to have a DVR and, compared to all DVR households, time-shift more content than other ethnicities.”

The report also shows that Americans are not simply time-shifting TV viewing, but increasingly are place-shifting it as well.

“From the bed to the bus, the living room to the laundry room, consumers are embracing all the various video platforms available to them,” the report states, noting that nearly half (48%) of Americans now watch video online, compared to 10% for mobile and 97% for traditional TV.

“Mobile subscribers watching video on their phone increased approximately 36% since the second quarter of 2010, and watching video on the Internet continued to flourish,” the report notes, adding, “Even with already pervasive usage levels, traditional TV viewing saw an increase of 2 hours 43 minutes per month.”