Young U.S. adults view video on web and phones, but all love TV, study says

U.S. adults under 35 watch videos online and on their mobile phones more than their older counterparts, according to a recent Nielsen study on video and TV usage on TV, Internet and mobile devices. But traditional TV isn’t going away, Nielsen says.

Americans spent an average of 127 hours and 15 minutes in front of their televisions in May, up 4% from 121 hours and 48 minutes a year earlier, Nielsen says. But younger adults are increasingly using the web and their mobile phones and devices for a bit of entertainment. Adults 25-34 watched videos on the web for an average of 3 hours and 22 minutes in May and via their phone for 3 hours and 36 minutes, significantly more time than for their older counterparts, Nielsen says.

The average amount of live and playback home TV viewing, Internet usage, watching video via the Internet and watching video via mobile phones for U.S. consumers in May ’08, May ‘07 (Hours: Minutes) with growth this year over last year is as follows:

• Watching TV in the home, 127:15, 121:48, 4%
• Using the Internet 26:26, 24:16, 9%
• Watching Video on Internet 2:19, n/a, n/a
• Mobile Video Subscribers Watching
• Video on a Mobile Phone(age 13 and up) 3:15, n/a, n/a

"Commercial television is alive and well, despite the rapid adoption of other platforms," says John Burbank, chief marketing officer for The Nielsen Company. "

220 Americans have Internet access at home and/or work and 73%, or 162 million went online in May, Nielsen reports. 119 million unique viewers viewed 7.5 billion video streams in May and as of Q1 2008, 91 million Americans—36% of all mobile phone subscribers in the U.S. —owned a video-capable phone.

The average amount of live and playback home TV viewing, Internet usage, watching video via the Internet and watching video via mobile phones for U.S. consumers in May ‘08 (Hours: Minutes) organized by age groups 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64 and 65+ is as follows

• Traditional TV, 118:59, 124:01, 145:03, 159:59, 177:50
• Using the Internet 29:00, 38:47, 33:52, 34:44, 26:01
• Watching Video on Internet 3:22, 2:48, 2:03, 1:33, 1:12
• Mobile Video Subscribers Watching Video on a Mobile Phone 3:36, 2:53, 2:53, 2:10, N/A