Seventy Percent of Media Consumers Use Multiple Forms of Media at the Same Time

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New study of habits is released by The Media Center at the American Press Institute
RISMEDIA, March 25-Three quarters of U.S. television viewers read the newspaper while they watch TV, and two thirds of them go online while they watch TV, according to a study of simultaneous media consumption released by The Media Center at the American Press Institute.

The Simultaneous Media Usage Survey (SIMM), conducted by BIGresearch in October 2003, reveals a higher-than-expected level of media multi-tasking. With 70 percent of media users saying they at one time or another try to absorb two or more forms of media at once, the SIMM results have far-reaching implications – technology and content providers, marketers and advertisers have to wonder: Who is paying attention to what, and when?

The study findings and details are available with a video briefing at: http://www.mediacenter.org

Key study findings include:

* People who regularly or occasionally watch TV and read the newspaper at the same time: 74.2%

* People who regularly or occasionally watch TV while going online: 66.2%.

* For simultaneous online users, TV viewing is down 8.8% among 18 to 24 year-olds and down 12.2% among 25 to 34 year-olds in favor of video games

* What people do as they wait for downloads from the Internet: listen to the radio (52.1%); watch TV (61.8%), read the newspaper (20.2%)

* Importance of word of mouth when it comes to making purchase decisions: 72.5% of all consumers say it’s very important versus 80% among cell phone users.

The SIMM study is an eye-opening window on the frequent simultaneous use of media by consumers. As new technologies enable mobile media consumption, The Media Center expects the quest for mindshare and influence to become as important as the quest for audience mass and brand awareness.

The research provides quantifiable data on consumer media behaviors as an alternative to traditional audience measurement techniques, which at best capture bodies or time in front of devices but do not necessarily capture mindshare or influence.

The Simultaneous Media Usage Study was conducted online in October 2003, using Big Research’s proprietary sampling technique, with 13,414 respondents participating. The margin of error is +/- 1 percent.

For more information, visit http://www.mediacenter.org

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