Nielsen: Video moves to Internet and Mobile

Consumers aren't just watching their favorite sit-coms on television every night. They are increasingly turning to the Internet and to mobile devices so that they can view favorite TV shows, movie trailers and user-generated content on their own time schedule. Across all three screens, viewing time has increased.

by Kristina Knight

The report finds that consumers are spending about 4% more time with television and have increased their time with online content by 9%. Because online video wasn't measured in 2007, there are no percentages to report year over year, however, the report indicates that overall Internet usage has increased by nearly 10%. Meanwhile, time shifted television viewing has increased by almost 60%.

For this report, time shifted television includes programs which are recorded through a DVR or Tivo device.

"Web video is changing the definition of the Internet for those under the age of 24," said John Burbank, Chief Marketing Officer for The Nielsen Company. "Those under 24 use the Internet less than older users but spend a greater percentage of time viewing video."

By age group, those between the ages of 18 and 44 watch the most video, whether that is through traditional television, time shifted television or online/mobile television. On average, those between 18 and 44 spent about 115 hours watching traditional television in May 2008 and spend just over 3 hours watching time shifted television. For online video, the average consumer watched nearly 3.5 hours of content and for mobile video, just under 3.5 hours.