• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, June 21, 2013

According to a recent Nielsen Cross-Platform Report, nothing is growing faster than the adoption of portable devices and the consumption of content on these devices. Smartphones and tablets have revolutionized our ability to be connected to each other and to our favorite shows at all times.

At the same time, traditional TV remains vibrant and continues to thrive as viewers continue to engage with their sets by seeking out the entertainment and information that appeals to them, says the report. Traditional TV viewing has grown year-over-year among the total U.S. population. African American households led this growth. These households are also increasing their consumption of mobile and digital video.

Average Time Spent Per Day on Selected Media (hrs, :min)
Time Frame	Live TV	DVR Playback	Video Games	DVD Playback
Q1 2010	4:49	:19	:12	:16
Q1 2011	4:47	:21	:14	:14
Q1 2012	4:38	:24	:14	:12
Q1 2013	4:39	:26	:13	:11
Source: Nielsen, June 2013

Consumers have the freedom to move from place to place and bring content and information with them. They can walk out the door and stay connected with their smartphones, use a tablet while riding a commuter train, find the comfort of a big set at the end of a day, or hide in a quiet spot to watch TV and TV-like content on the tablet or laptop.

The report says old-fashioned TV remains dominant while streaming and mobile video use is growing but still small in comparison. Fewer people watched traditional television in the first quarter of 2013, compared to a year ago, and fewer subscribed to multichannel services, but more time was spent watching traditional TV. The study shows that the number of people watching traditional TV was 282.949 million, down from 283,302 in the first quarter of 2012. The number of people watching time-shifted TV rose to 166.088 million from 145.553 million.

Time spent watching traditional TV increased slightly in the first quarter, to 157 hours and 32 minutes per month from 155:46 a year ago, according to the report. Time spent watching time-shifted TV rose to 13:23 from 12.09. Use of DVD and Blu Ray devices dropped to 5:56 from 6:07

Dounia Turrill, Nielsen's senior VP of insight, says "... traditional TV is thriving as viewers... go to their sets for entertainment and information that appeals... “

As the popularity of mobile devices rise, computer use is down, says the report. The number of people watching video on the Internet was 155.169 million, down from 162.523 million, while the number of people watching video on a mobile phone jumped to 45.319 million from 35.957 million. Time spent watching video on the internet jumped to 8:20 per month, and time spent watching video on a mobile phone rose to 4:29 from 5:01.

• Adults 18-24 watch 27 minutes of video on mobile phones per week
• Teens 12-17 watched video for 25 minutes on their phones
• Among adults 25-35, the total was 23 minutes per week
• Video viewing on phones dropped to almost half that among adults 25-49, and fell even more sharply among older viewers
• Adults 18 to 24 watched 23 hours and 24 minutes of traditional TV
• The group watching the most time-shifted TV was adults 35-49, who spent 3:42 per week on delayed programming. Those viewers also watched 34:18 in traditional TV

The study found the number of homes with broadcast only delivery in the first quarter rose to 11.173 million from 11.067 million a year ago. The number of wired cable homes fell to 57.161 million from 59.807 million, while satellite rose to 34.907 million homes from 34.567million, and telco rose to 10.318 million. That left the total number of multichannel homes at 102,386 million in the quarter, down from 103,264 million, according to the report.

Smart phone users spent 87% of their Internet time using apps, versus 13 browsing the mobile web. iPad users spent 76% of their Internet time on apps. iPad users spent 3:41 on social networks, 1:48 on video and 0:50 on sports. Social networking was the way most people spent time on their smart phones and tablets. Smart phone uses spent 9 hours and 6 minutes on social networks, compared to 1:15 on streaming video and 1:11 on getting sports updates and results.

For more information from Nielsen, please visit here.