Multiscreen Behavior [PODCAST]

In the latest episode of “Behind the Numbers,” eMarketer estimates for time spent with media and for simultaneous media usage. Forecasting analyst Monica Peart and demographics analyst Mark Dolliver discuss the ins and outs of media usage with host Bryan Yeager.

10 Charts About Multi-Screen Behavior

1) Multitainment Behavior By Generation

More than 9 in 10 US consumers aged 14 and older say they typically multitask while watching TV, up from about 8 in 10 just 3 years earlier, reports Deloitte in its latest annual Digital Democracy survey. While multitasking is most common – and almost ubiquitous – among younger age groups, it’s also widespread among older generations, as more than 5 in 6 Baby Boomers and Matures report engaging in other activities while watching TV.

However, those older generations estimate only engaging in one other activity while watching TV, while teens and Millennials average 4 other activities. Interestingly, this doesn’t seem to negatively affect the probability of these younger groups engaging in activities related to the program they’re watching: roughly one-third of multitasking activities for 19-32-year-olds are directly related to the program they are watching, compared to less than 20% of the activities for the older generations. Overall, about one-quarter (24%) of multitasking is estimated to be directly related to the program being viewed. Read the rest at MarketingCharts.com.

2) Young Multitainment Consumers’ Attitudes Toward TV

Multi-screeners are twice as likely as single-screeners to say it’s important to watch their favorite shows live (47% vs. 23%), according to a Viacom survey of more than 1,500 Viacom viewers aged 13-44. The survey results also indicate that multi-screeners are more likely to be loyal to a few networks and less likely to give up pay-TV because they rely on DVR. Separately, the Viacom survey finds that live TV retains a key role in viewing behavior across the age groups tracked despite the proliferation of viewing screens and sources. Source: Viacom Read the rest at MarketingCharts.

3) TV Multitasking Behavior

Some 86% of US consumers (aged 14+) claim to always or almost always multitask while watching TV, up from 81% last year. Almost half of Millennials this year say they use a social network while watching TV. Based on an online survey of 2,075 US consumers aged 14 and older, fielded by an independent research firm from November 11, 2013 to December 5, 2013. Source: Deloitte  Read the rest at MarketingCharts.

4) Multitainment Devices

Devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops and portable gaming systems have made it easy for consumers to multitask while watching television. However, a November 2013 study by TiVo found that three-quarters of US TV viewers were more focused on what was on the tube, even when using a second screen.

Smartphones were the No. 1 device respondents used while watching TV, with more than six in 10 saying they had “ever” used a smartphone while watching television and around one-quarter who “almost always” used such a device during the activity. Nearly half of TV viewers had used a laptop while watching TV, but just 11% almost always multiscreened with the device, compared with about one-fifth of viewers who almost always used a tablet. Read the rest at eMarketer.

5) Multitainment By Device Pairs

Devices most often used for entertainment—TVs and tablets—saw the greatest simultaneous usage: 77% of all TV interactions among US connected device users—defined as consumers owning a smart phone, PC and TV—occurred alongside another device, as did three-quarters of all tablet interactions. Read the rest at eMarketer.

6) Leading Multitainment Activities

Simultaneous usage was more task-based than entertainment-focused. Emailing, internet browsing and social networking were the most common multiscreen activities, a good sign for the many TV marketers whose calls to action point consumers toward browsing and social networking sites, capitalizing on common user behaviors. Read the rest at eMarketer.

7) College Students’ Multitainment Activities

When students turn on the TV, it is to watch a program, even if using other devices is a corollary part of the experience. The study found that eight out of 10 college students reported using a second screen at least a few times a week while watching TV. Only 13% did so less than once a week, or not at all.

The most popular activity students engaged in while watching TV was using Facebook or Twitter, at 63% of respondents. Social TV can be boon to TV marketers and advertisers, but there is always the possibility that social networks are merely distractions from TV content. Read the rest at eMarketer.

8) Multitainment Behavior By Device

Part of the increase in online activity by consumers is no doubt occurring when they are watching television. In the IAB and Ipsos MediaCT HearWatchSay survey of “media-savvy” consumers, almost two-thirds of respondents said they had used another device the last time they watched live TV. And overall, those using a digital device to discuss or otherwise interact with a TV show preferred their smartphones to either tablets or computers. Read the rest at eMarketer.

9) Smart Phone Multitainment Behavior

Smartphone owners use their devices to interact with televised content at far higher rates than owners of more basic cell phones. Fully 74% of smartphone owners reported using their devices in one way or another while watching television in the preceding 30 days, compared with 27% of non-smart phone owners. Read the rest at Pew & American Life Project.

10) Time Spent On Multitainment Activity

There has been a good deal of research lately devoted to TV consumption trends as they relate to increasing adoption of smart devices, and as TV increasingly becomes part of a multi-screen experience. Some signs point to TV multitasking as enhancing the viewing experience: for example, a recent study found that interacting with social media while watching TV drives increased program engagement. But a key question remains: are these viewers watching TV ads or picking up their devices? A new study [PDF] by Symphony Advanced Media sheds some light on this issue.

The study – sponsored by the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) – measured cross-media advertising effectiveness using passive measurement of ad exposure. This type of measurement captures data from panelists every second of every day without the need for panelist interaction, using a single source to time stamp TV, online and application usage. Read the rest at MarketingCharts.