Consumer Media Usage Across TV, Online, Mobile and Social

An interesting report came to me this week. It’s Nielsen’s “State of Meida: Consumer Usage Report 2011” where it’s stated that almost one in three U.S. TV households – 35.9 million – owns four or more televisions, according to a new report on media usage from Nielsen. Across the ever-changing U.S. media landscape, TV maintains its stronghold as the most popular device, with 290 million Americans and 114.7 households owning at least one. In contrast, 211 million Americans are online and 116 million (ages 13+) access the mobile Web.

Based on analysis of the data there are 3 key takeaways for video marketers:

1. TV may not be as sexy or exciting as online or mobile, but it is still the best way to reach a mass audience quickly. It is certainly the most dominant video device in the land.290 million Americans in 115 million homes own at least one TV as compared to 211 million online and 116 million (ages 13+) accessing the mobile Web. Yes, we still love our TVs with 31.3% of the 115 million US HHs owning 4 or more televisions. By contrast, 75% as many (86 million HHs) have broadband access and 43% in the U.S. have smart phones.  This access translates to usage. 288 million Americans (ages 2+) access video via TV as compared to 143 million on the Internet and 30 million on smart phones. The 25-49 year old demographic viewed an average of 30 hours of TV each week as compared to < 1 hour of video on the web and mobile combined. And, don’t expect TV to go away. The numbers are steady and the medium is evolving. Note the top 5 mobile video channels are YouTube followed by 4 TV brands – Fox, ABC, Comedy Central and CBS.

2. Create transmedia visual messages that result in a consistent experience for  your audience on all platforms. While TV dominates, followed by the web and mobile they all reach large, critical audiences. TV is holding its own and  the gaps are closing. Mobile growth is exponential, driven by smart phone and tablet sales, and online is showing no signs of slowing down. People are not migrating from one platform to another; they are cruising across all platforms and your content should serve as a bridge.  94% of the 86 million broadband HHs also value TV enough to pay for access, and they dont cancel their cable/satellite for TV and home web when they buy their smart phones and tablets. Cord-cutting is happening, but not so fast. More so, it’s not how they access  information that is indicative of the need to produce and distribute content appropriate for each platform – especially as those lines also blur. The real need is highlighted by what they’re doing. Sure, we’re simultaneously watching and surfing and tweeting and chatting and sharing but, more specifically – 40% looked up info related to a TV program they were watching (note to media relations and marketing integration pros) and 30% looked up info on a product in an ad (note to “the 30 second spot is dead’ crowd).

3. Social media is connecting the dots but content is driving the conversation. Of the  top 5 video destinations (YouTube far ahead of VEVO, Yahoo!, Facebook and MSN) all have social media features and 2 (YouTube and Facebook) are social media platforms. Audiences are expecting, if not demanding more content with 80% of mobile users identifying ‘new content’ as very or somewhat important. Furthermore, when asked about their preferred sources for product and service information 63% said consumer reviews and/or ratings (sounds social to me, wonder how many were video), 50% responded company website (which should have video content and social functionality), 47% noted call centers (wow!), 45% identified e-mail (which should contain embeds or links to video) and finally … 34% specified video clips (no one singled out text or photos, but they should be part of the mix too). Communities have formed and technologies and consumption habits have developed to set the expectation for rich media. Professional communicators are playing catch up when it comes to quality content.

Interesting right?. Online version here: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/mediauniverse/