Nielsen: Internet/TV complementary activities

The Internet hasn't killed the television... yet. In fact, according to a new study from Nielsen's newly-formed TV/Internet Convergence Panel, television viewing and using the Internet are complementary activities.

by Helen Leggatt

The Nielsen study found that almost 31% of home Internet use occurred while the user watched television. Conversely, 4% of television watching occurs while the user is browsing the Internet.

While teens were found to be the most likely simultaneous users, adults between the ages of 35 to 54 years old spent the most number of minutes watching television and using the Internet at the same time.

"It is too early to draw any firm conclusions about behavior, but the early trends seem to indicate that online usage is complementing, not substituting for, traditional television viewing," said Howard Shimmel, a senior vice president at Nielsen.

Internet users who rank among the top fifth in terms of time spent online also watch more than 250 minutes of television each day, according to Nielsen, while people who don't use the Internet at all watch just 220 minutes of TV per day.