Television struggles to captivate tablet and smartphone owners

October 13, 2011 By Mike Flacy

While television networks attempt to keep the attention of the viewers with new forms of programming, smartphones and tablets are currently distracting viewers from the Fall schedule.

According to a new study posted on the Nielsen blog today, 40 percent of smartphone owners check their smartphone daily when watching television and 42 percent of tablet owners do the same. While other respondents admitted to checking their device several times a week, several times a month or only once a month, only 13 percent of respondents claimed to never use mobile devices while watching a program on television.However, forty-five percent of people that owned an eReader never use the reading device when watching television and only 14 percent use the eReader daily during the same time.

In addition, the study broke down typical usage between men and women. The most common activity while watching television for both men and women is checking email. Approximately 60 percent of respondents check their email on a smartphone or tablet while watching a television program or during the commercial break. Forty-six percent of men and women surf for unrelated information and 42 percent visit a social networking site while watching television. However, women are much more likely to check a social networking site like Facebook compared to men. Adversely, 44 percent of men check sport scores over a smartphone or tablet during television time compared to 17 percent of women.

Related to the television program or commercials, approximately 30 percent of people research information about the program while watching television. In regards to seeking out product information, about 20 percent will look online for more info about a product seen during a commercial or a product placement in a television program. Finally, 13 percent of Americans look up coupons or deals related to a commercial on their smartphone or tablet. Women were more likely to research information around coupons and deals while men were more likely to check up on products as well as read extended information about the television program.

Showing 4 comments

Adam Berberich at 7:13am 14th October 2011 There needs to be some kind of convergence in this space. for example, if you're watching Monday Night Football on ESPN, there should be a way that the content being viewed can be "beamed" to your device or synced a la the NBC Live app for the iPad. This way true fans can get a more immersive experience while engaging with what's on the tube. It's not about captivating viewers and keeping them focused (though I'll put my iPhone down if a big play is made or if there's a key plot turn in a show) but more along the lines of enriching the actual viewing experience itself. There's HUGE opportunity to do so in this area of convergence, and frankly traditional broadcast and cable properties aren't making a good enough or timely effort to innovate in this space.
Michael Durwin at 1:42pm 14th October 2011 Television shouldn't have to: television networks are content creators not TV manufacturers, why do they care what screen their content shows on? It boggles the mind.
Bristol Eastwood at 6:15am 14th October 2011 I keep thinking about getting a large brand new or factory refurb HDTV- either LCD or LED, but I can watch tons of shows and movies on my laptop streaming wireless cozy in bed or anywhere in the house...with no commercials and infomercials.
Prashant Harish Hari at 5:24am 14th October 2011 Dont try replicating old tricks on new platforms would be a good start. New platform, new era, new technologies, change in consumer behaviour and consumer viewing patterns=change in how TV works:)