TVs, DVDs Most Popular Devices in the US

January 9, 2012

nielsen-device-ownership-in-us-households-jan12.gif290 million Americans owned at least 1 TV in 2011, while 253 million owned a DVD player, putting both devices ahead of mobile phones in ownership (232 million), according to [pdf] a January 2012 report from Nielsen. 114.7 million households owned at least 1 TV, with the largest number of those (35.9 million) owning 4 or more. In total, 288 million viewers aged 2 and up watched traditional TV, while 143 million watched TV or video on the internet. The 111 million viewers watching timeshifted TV in Q2 2011 represented 11% year-over-year growth.

Meanwhile, video game consoles (162 million), digital cable (145 million), and DVR (129 million) rounded out the top 5 most-popular devices in 2011.

Smartphone Penetration Highest Among Asians

Data from “State of the Media: Consumer Usage Report, 2011” indicates that smartphone penetration is highest among Asian Americans (60%), followed by Hispanics (50%), African Americans (48%), and Caucasians (39%). Android is the preferred operating system among all ethnicities save for Asians, who typically opt for iPhones.

Overall, 211 million Americans go online and 116 million access the mobile web. The average person visits 94 domains, 2,905 pages, and 830 Facebook pages on a monthly basis.

TV Viewing Time Blows Away Competition

Americans watch an average of almost 33 hours of traditional TV per week, led by adults aged 65 and over, who watch more than 46 hours per week. By contrast, the average time spent accessing the internet on a computer is about 4 hours per week, led by 25-34-year-olds, at roughly 6 hours.

The average weekly time spent watching timeshifted TV is 2 hours and 21 minutes, with 35-49-year-olds watching the most (3 hours and 7 minutes). Meanwhile, 25-34-year-olds watch the most video on the internet, at 50 minutes per week, while 12-17-year-olds watch the most video on a mobile device, at 20 minutes per week.

YouTube Top Destination, But Netflix Hogs Time Spent

Among online video destinations, YouTube (126.5 million) is by far the top-ranked by unique viewer, with VEVO (39.5 million), Yahoo (35 million), and Facebook (31.2 million) closely bunched in the distance. According to comScore, though, the top properties boast significantly more viewers: Google was the top online video property in November 2011, with almost 151.6 million viewers, ahead of VEVO (55.4 million), Facebook (50.8 million), and Yahoo (50.4 million).

Nielsen data finds that in terms of time spent per month, Netflix easily wins with an average of 10 hours and 1 minute per person, followed by YouTube (2 hours and 52 minutes), Tudou.com (2 hours and 34 minutes), and Hulu (2 hours and 26 minutes). According to BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield, if Netflix were a TV network, it would be the 15th-largest in the US based on hours watched.

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