Internet An Ally, Not An Enemy, Of Television

The study, entitled “Whatever, Whenever, Wherever: How Broadband Is Redefining The Economics of Television”, finds that the online draw of virtual second lives and social networking isn’t detrimental to television’s share of viewer´s eyeballs.

Research has found that the time Americans devote to television is still on the increase, with the 2005-2006 season seeing the highest figures in Nielsen’s research history. U.S. households’ daily television usage has steadily increased over the last few years and today stands at an average of 8 hours and 14 minutes, exclusive of time watching TV content online.

Now some television programs, such as Heroes and Grey’s Anatomy, are forming online social networks and streaming episodes online. If a viewer misses an episode they can catch up at the Heroes website, either by watching a 2-minute replay or the entire episode. The whole experience adds, not takes away, from the television viewer’s experience, and gives the viewer the flexibility to watch the content wherever, and whenever they choose, complete with ads.

"The study concludes that programmers have the opportunity to create new revenue models to benefit content owners and their affiliated stations," said Larry Gerbrandt, head of Nielsen Analytics. "With broadband streams, for example, fast forwarding through commercials can be disabled making it more likely the consumers will watch the spots and possibly interact with them."

In addition, Internet audiences have been found to be wealthier, better educated and younger than traditional television audiences, a bonus for advertisers, who annually spend around $70 million on television advertising.

Tags: Nielsen, social networking, social networks, television, U.S., webisodes