Nielsen: Viewers prefer TV set to Internet

According to new research from The Nielsen Company for the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing, the vast majority of Americans still prefer watching television shows on a television set.

by Helen Leggatt

When asked, 94% of adults in the U.S. who subscribed to cable or satellite television said they preferred to watch television content on their televisions sets as opposed to via the Internet.

The same Nielsen survey revealed that one-third of adult broadband users in the U.S. had watched at least one show originally shown on television using the Internet. Most broadband users, 87%, continued to watch shows directly from a television network website.

"With so many viewing options now available via digital technology, it's more important than ever to understand how people are consuming media," said Susan Whiting, exec VP at The Nielsen Company.

"This analysis shows a continuing strong appetite for watching television the traditional way, even as viewers begin to extend their viewing to the personal computer."

Recent research from Yahoo/Deep Focus revealed that many television viewers go online to search for background information on shows and their casts, catch up with missed episodes or socialize with other show fans.