Consumers Prefer Instant Media

The study, Internet and Multimedia 2005: The On-Demand Media Consumer, finds that an estimated 27 million Americans own one or more on-demand media devices – such as a TiVo®/DVR, iPod® or other portable MP3 player – and also exhibit multiple behaviors that show a heavy tendency toward an on-demand media lifestyle.

The study focuses on devices and services that allow Americans to exercise more control over the media they consume:

·       Twenty-seven percent of 12- to 17- year olds own an iPod or other portable MP3 player.
·       An estimated 43 million Americans choose to record TV programming to watch at a different time (using technology such as a VCR or TiVo/DVR).

·       Seventy-six percent of consumers own at least one DVD.  Thirty-nine percent own 20 or more DVDs in their personal collection.

·       Awareness of XM Satellite Radio has tripled since 2002, from 17 percent to 50 percent, while awareness of Sirius Satellite Radio has increased even more significantly, from eight percent to 54 percent.

“The study shows that consumers, while still using traditional media, have great enthusiasm and passion for on-demand media,” said Bill Rose, senior vice president of Marketing, U.S. Media Services, Arbitron Inc.  “Traditional and Internet broadcasters need to adjust their approaches to accommodate this increasingly important consumer segment.” 

“Consumers are taking more control over the media that they use, how they use them and when they use them,” said Joe Lenski, executive vice president, Edison Media Research.

Additional findings from the study include:

·       Those who use on-demand audio devices/services spend only slightly less time listening to traditional radio compared to the average. The average consumer spends approximately 2 hours 48 minutes per day listening to traditional radio, compared with 2 hours 33 minutes per day among those who owned iPods/portable MP3 devices, subscribed to satellite radio or listened to Internet radio during the past week.

·       Broadband connections are just as common as dial-up connections in American households.  Forty-eight percent of people with home Internet access have broadband and 48 percent have dial-up service.

·       The monthly Internet video audience is estimated to be approximately 35 million people; the weekly online video audience is nearly 20 million.

·       The number of Americans who made a purchase from a Web site in the past week has more than tripled, with four percent having purchased online in the past week in 2001 compared to 14 percent in 2005.

·       Ten percent of Americans with household income of $100,000 or more own a hand-held wireless e-mail device such as a BlackBerry®, compared to three percent of Americans 12+.

The findings reported here are based on a January 2005 survey consisting of 1,855 telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of Arbitron’s Fall 2004 radio diarykeepers.