[ press Release ]

Two-Thirds of Internet Time Is Shared with Other Media – More Than Double the Proportion for TV

Research from Knowledge Networks shows heavy increase of simultaneous media use among 18-to-34 age group

New York, NY; July 21, 2011: A new Knowledge Networks analysis shows that, for two out of every three minutes consumers (ages 13 to 64) spend with the Internet, they are also using at least one other medium at the same time. This compares to three out of every 10 minutes for television – meaning that TV is a "solo medium" 70% of the time.

The research also reveals that simultaneous use of Internet with other media grew dramatically among those 18 to 34 years old; in 2009, 51% of their Internet minutes were shared with other media, versus 64% in late 2010.

Simultaneous Use by Medium (Percent of Minutes)

To be read: 66% of all Internet time is spent using another medium at the same time

Overall, 20% of all minutes spent with the five media measured – TV, Internet, radio, magazines, and newspapers – are shared with one or more other media.

"If we assume that every medium you add to the mix is likely to diminish attention to advertising, then television holds a unique advantage over the Internet when it comes to engagement," said Robert DeFelice, Vice President of Client Service at Knowledge Networks and director of the MultiMedia Mentor® research program. "But this also means that the Internet presents twice as many opportunities for reinforcing messages in other media – if one has a clear sense of where and when target audiences might be likely to combine media use."

For MultiMedia Mentor®, Knowledge Networks conducts roughly 5,000 extensive interviews each year with members of KnowledgePanel® about their use of media – as well as their consumption of soda, their car purchasing plans, and hundreds of other other key profile data points. Mentor is also the basis for Total TouchSM, a custom, scalable solution for assessing consumer exposure and reactions across dozens of media, including out-of-home. ESPN and NBCU are among the companies that have used Total TouchSM to measure media audiences for key events. The new data in this release is from the Fall 2010 data set, encompassing over 2,500 interviews.

Knowledge Networks is passionate about research in consumer goods, retail, media, health and social policy – collaborating closely with client teams throughout the research process, while applying rigor in everything we do. We specialize in innovative online research that consistently gives leaders in business, government, and academia the confidence to make important decisions.

KN delivers affordable, statistically valid online research through KnowledgePanel and leverages a variety of other assets, such as world class advanced analytics, an industry-leading physician panel, an innovative platform for measuring online ad effectiveness, and a research-ready behavioral database of frequent supermarket and drug store shoppers.