Three Screen Report: TV Remains Strong as DVR and Online Video Show Most Growth | Nielsen Wire

Three Screen Report: TV Remains Strong as DVR and Online Video Show Most Growth | Nielsen Wire

What We Watch Weekly

For the first time this quarter, Nielsen reports how much time the average American spends in a typical week with TV, Internet and mobile devices. Without a doubt, consumers of all ages spend the majority of their video time (nearly 99%) in front of the television, while DVR and online video are becoming more widely used.

In 3Q09, the average American watched 31 hours of TV per week, with 31 minutes spent in playback mode with their DVR. In addition, each week the average consumer spent 4 hours on the Internet and 22 minutes watching online video. The average consumer spent 3 minutes watching mobile video each week.


The TV and Internet figures in this report are calculated using Nielsen’s National TV and Internet panels, which are measured electronically and reported on a regular basis. The Mobile phone figures are collected by Nielsen via a quarterly survey and give a firsthand look at how early adopters self-report their usage of mobile video.

Other Highlights of the Report

  • Almost 99% of video content watched in America is still done on traditional television

  • DVR and Online Video continue to show solid growth – up 21.1% and 34.9% respectively in time spent from Third Quarter 2008

  • Teens continue to watch mobile video the most, at just over 7 hours per month, though mobile video is not just a young medium, as mobile users Adults 45-54 report viewing nearly 3 hours of video on their mobile phones