TV is king when US consumers choose screen time

Up to 40% of entertainment time is spent watching television shows over other screen activities such as social media and gaming, according to a study of US consumers by Hub Entertainment Research.

The study which featured 1,774 US consumers, who have broadband and watch at least 5 hours of TV per week, shows that when considering a nationwide average TV comes up top above movies, social media, online video and gaming.

Up to 40% said they spend screen time on TV shows, 15% they spend in on movies, 12% on social media, 12% on online gaming, 11% on gaming and the rest of the 10% was listed as ‘other’.

Furthermore, the consumers said that they use the ‘big three’ SVOD giants for different content needs with Netflix coming up top for TV dramas and originals.

People watching Netflix say they spend more time watching Netflix originals (37% of their total viewing) on that service than anything else. Hulu viewers primarily use it to watch shows from traditional TV networks (54% of their viewing) and Amazon Prime viewers are most likely to be watching movies (39% of their viewing).

When asked which sources would make them most interested in trying a brand new show, Netflix was number one in drama ahead of networks such as HBO. Netflix also ranked first for ‘original’ shows generally, across genres.

Only younger consumers, generally 18-24-year-olds, reported allocating more entertainment time to online video and gaming.

In this group, 19% said they spend more of their time on television, 21% on online video, 22% on gaming, 14% on social media, 13% on movies and 11% on ‘other’.

“Given that we’re in the much-touted era of ‘peak TV’, it’s not surprising that TV shows are consumers’ first choice for entertainment,” said Peter Fondulas, co-author of the study and principal at Hub.

“But there’s an equally important trend in our findings: Even with more high-quality TV shows to choose from than ever before, TV faces fierce competition among young consumers, who spend the vast majority of their entertainment time with non-TV options—like social media, online video, and gaming.”