We’re Watching More Video Online, But Nowhere Near As Much As We Watch TV [Nielsen]

There’s no questioning the rise in online video viewing, but U.S. adults are still watching a lot more video on their television sets than anywhere else.

Nielsen’s Q2 2014 Cross-Platform Report reports that U.S. adults are averaging about 4.5 hours of live TV watching per day, while digital video viewing ranges from 19-35 minutes per day, depending on the age group. As you’d expect, the younger you are, the more video you watch online and the less live TV you watch.

Among all three age groups, online video viewing has essentially doubled in the past two years. Even the 50-and-older crowd (where I’ll be in just a few years) is watching 19 minutes of video online every day, up from just nine minutes per day in 2012. Meanwhile, TV watching is down about 10 minutes per day for adults in both the 18-34 and 35-49 age groups. But that 50+ group is watching more live TV now than they did two years ago.

The trend is obviously favoring digital video over live TV, but the latter is still the dominant way we consume video.