Chilling out in front of the telly may no longer be a lazy way to
spend an evening, according to new research released today. Nearly 70
percent of online British adults who watch television (69 percent)
multitask while watching the box by going online to check e-mails,
shop and even have a say on blogs or online forums about the shows
they love.
The research released today by blinkx, the world´s largest and
most advanced video search engine, surveyed over 2,000 online adults
in Great Britain about their TV viewing habits.
The survey found that watching TV has become an interactive
pastime, with about one in six adults (16 percent) surfing the web for
content related to what they´re watching and one in five (20 percent)
logging on to have their say in online forums, social networking sites
and via instant messenger.
"The Internet has made it much easier for people to find out more
about what´s happening behind the scenes of their favourite shows,"
said Suranga Chandratillake, founder and CEO, blinkx. "We all want
much more information about what we´re watching - whether it´s an
episode spoiler, character information or sporting stats for those
sports mad TV fans. To top it off, as the research showed, many of us
are quite keen to share our thoughts on what we´re watching with other
people online."
The research also showed:
-- Men CAN multitask! Online men are just as likely as their
female counterparts to use the Internet at the same time as
watching TV, with 31 percent stating they do so always or
often
-- We´re a nation of armchair critics: 30 percent of the adults
surveyed are online while watching TV and interact with others
in chat rooms, via instant messenger or on social networking
sites
-- 80 percent of our young adults (16-24 year olds) go online
whilst watching TV
Multitasking men
Even the old adage that men can´t multitask has been challenged by
the recent research. According to the research, men are just as
inclined as women to go online while watching TV (68 percent men and
70 percent women). However, among those who do, men are more likely
than women to surf the Web for content that is related to the shows
they are watching (30 percent of men versus 18 percent of women).
Interestingly, the research has also shown that, among those who
go online while watching TV, men are equally as likely as women to
shop while they watch. Forty-three percent of both men and women
peruse shopping sites while watching TV.
Armchair Critics
With the rise of reality shows such as Big Brother and X-Factor,
it seems everyone from your little brother to great aunty has an
opinion they want to share. blinkx has found that 18 percent of 16-24
year old TV viewers blog and comment online in chat rooms whilst
watching TV.
We´re not keeping our opinions to ourselves either, 54 percent of
all online British adults actively discuss shows with friends and
colleagues afterwards, or interact online about what we´ve watched.
´Two Timers´
Not only are we highly opinionated, but blinkx has also found that
we want to find out more about what we watch, while we´re watching it.
Nearly 70 percent of the online British adult population (69 percent)
go online when watching television, and 21 percent of 16-24 year olds
are always simultaneously online and watching TV.
Interestingly, even the Golden Oldies of Great Britain also ´two
time,´ with 50 percent of Silver Surfers aged 55 years old and up
going online while watching TV.
When online and watching TV, we´re mostly checking email (83
percent), surfing the web (68 percent), or shopping (43 percent).
Interestingly, there is no difference between the sexes in shopping
habits, with 43 percent of both men and women searching for bargains
whilst watching TV and being online.
Other Findings from the Report
In terms of the video or television content we watch online,
there´s no surprise that, among those who watch online content, men
are more likely than women to watch sports (48 percent of men versus
17 percent of women), and women are more likely than men to look for
the latest celebrity news and gossip (27 percent of women versus 9
percent of men).
About the Survey
Harris Interactive(R) fielded the online survey on behalf of
Blinkx between February 13 and February 18, 2008 among nationwide
cross-sections of 2,471 adults aged 18+ in the United States and 2,228
adults aged 16+ in Great Britain. The Great Britain data were weighted
to be representative of the total G.B. adult population on the basis
of region, age, sex, education, and income. The U.S. data were
weighted to be representative of the total U.S. adult population on
the basis of region, age within gender, education, household income,
and race/ethnicity. Both sets of data were weighted to be
representative of the population of online adults in each country.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability
sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most
often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error,
coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated
with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting
and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words
"margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated
are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities
for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These
are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this
ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who
have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys.
Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to
participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no
estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
Full data tables are available upon request.
About blinkx
blinkx plc (LSE AIM:BLNX) is the world´s most comprehensive video
search engine. Today, blinkx has indexed more than 18 million hours of
audio, video, viral and TV content, and made it fully searchable and
available on demand. blinkx´s founders set out to solve a significant
challenge - as TV and user-generated content on the Web explode,
keyword-based search technologies only scratch the surface. blinkx´s
patented search technologies listen to - and even see - the Web,
helping users enjoy a breadth and accuracy of search results not
available elsewhere. In addition, blinkx powers the video search for
many of the world´s most frequented sites. blinkx is based in San
Francisco and London. More information is available at www.blinkx.com.
