Nielsen released a new study today that drills down on how tablet and smartphone users engage with their devices while watching TV. Roughly 40% of tablet and smartphone owners are using their devices daily while watching TV — that number jumps to 70% for tablet users “several times a week.” These are big numbers that validate the incredible potential of second-screen applications. Here’s the breakdown:
Here’s where it gets fascinating. The graph below explains what tablet and smartphone users are doing while they watch TV. As you may have suspected, the majority of activity is unrelated to the TV program at hand — viewers are checking email and looking up other stuff online, equally during the program and commercial breaks. After all, we’re a nation of multi-taskers:
The next most popular activity is visiting a social networking site/app — substantially more popular than looking up websites with “info related to the TV program.” Unfortunately, the study doesn’t break down if people are 1) participating or just listening to social conversations and 2) if the conversations are related to the TV program at hand. But it’s probably safe to say that more viewers are more inclined to talk about (or listen to) conversations about a TV show than proactively look up expanded content about it.
On the advertising end, 19 percent of smartphone and tablet owners searched for product information and 13 percent searched for coupons or deals while the television was on. That’s a very strong number which helps balance the concern about all the unrelated tablet/phone activity during commercial breaks.
The goal of many second-screen apps, of course, is to bring this all together: social conversations, expanded content and interactive (even synchronized) advertising. Compelling second-screen experiences, in theory, will move the needle more in the “related” direction, making TV viewers more engaged overall. Stay tuned for a flurry of innovation here.
Earlier: Does social media drive TV ratings? Yes, finds study