People spending more time streaming

Streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu now account for 19% of television viewing in the United States for people who have that capacity, virtually double what it was less than two years ago, a report released last week said.

A Nielsen company study illustrated how quickly consumers have embraced streaming as an alternative to live television. The percentage of time spent streaming has gone from 10% in a Nielsen study from March 2018 to 19% during the last three months of 2019.

More than half of consumers with the capacity to stream subscribe to two or more services, Nielsen found. And, in a survey, 93% said they planned to increase or maintain that number.

“There is room for growth there,” said Pete Katsingris, Nielsen’s senior vice president for audience insights.

The average American spends a staggering 11 hours, 54 minutes each day connected to some form of media — TV, smartphones, radio, games — although that number is bloated because some of the usage is simultaneous, Nielsen said. That’s up nearly an hour and a half in only a year.

Smartphone usage accounts for virtually all the increase. People spent just under four hours a day on their phones in Nielsen’s most recent study, compared with 2 hours, 31 minutes in the last three months of 2018.

Live television viewing is down in the past year (3 hours, 44 minutes to 3 hours, 27 minutes), explaining the worry in executive suites at television networks. Streaming time is up, from 29 minutes per day to 38 minutes in the same period.

Nielsen’s report also illustrates a generation gap. People ages 18 to 34 spend 5½ hours per week on an internet-connected device, compared with 2½ hours for people older than age 65.

Nielsen said consumers had access to 646,152 different movies or TV programs last year, up 10% in only a year.

There’s something to be said for familiarity.

Nielsen said the five mostwatched programs on Netflix during the last three months of 2019 were episodes of programs that began on broadcast network television: “The Office,” “Friends,” “Criminal Minds,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “NCIS.”