Most mobile TV viewing happens at home

New research has shown that most viewing of TV content on mobile devices happens in the home. A Council for Research Excellence study into mobile viewing found that 82% of tablet and 64% of smartphone TV viewing happened at home.

Other key takeaways in the TV Untethered report include the fact that over 40 million consumers in the US are now watching TV content on mobile devices.

By genre, drama is the most popular, accounting for 31% of tablet viewing and 27% on smartphones. Comedy was second with 20% and 24% of all viewing across tablets and phones.

In family homes, the research suggested that mobile devices are being used to allow different family members to view different programmes at the same time.

Convenience and multi-episode binge viewing are driving mobile viewing, the report authors added, while ad avoidance is not a primary motivator, the Nielsen-backed Council for Research Excellence noted.

The study took in information from 6,000 participants. Chris Neal , VP at Chadwick Martin Bailey, which conducted the research said: “Today’s mobile devices are having a screen multiplier effect within households, leading to an increase in overall TV consumption. They are not replacing television sets, but they are impacting TV viewing habits in a way that is too fundamental for anyone in the media and advertising industries to ignore.”