Nielsen: Tablet Owners Check Email While Watching TV

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

A new survey found that 40% of tablet and smart phone owners are using the gadgets daily while watching TV.

The survey from Nielsen found that most common activity done on tablets and smart phones is checking emails, with about 60% of respondents. And according to the survey, a similar number of users are checking both during programs and commercials.

Other activities included surfing for unrelated information (46%), visiting social networking sites (42%) and checking sports scores (30%).

Only 29% of users said they used their devices to look up info related to the TV show their watching. And just 19% said they looked up product info after seeing a commercial.

The Nielsen study found a big difference between the behavior of users of tablets and users of e-readers. Only 14% of e-reader owners said they watched TV while using the device.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.