What are 31% of people doing exactly at the same time?  They are watching TV and web surfing!

According to Marketing Charts

Nearly 31% of people who went online at home in October were also watching television simultaneously, demonstrating that web surfing and TV watching are complementary behaviors, according to research from The Nielsen Company’s new TV/Internet Convergence Panel.

I’m so guilty of this very behavior and I find myself doing it more and more.

This interesting fact leads me to ponder the following:  If watching TV and surfing the web are done at the same time – what portion of that attention is on the actual TV versus on the web?  I’m betting that the moment a traditional TV ad comes on; the attention immediately shifts to the computer.

I’m also in agreement that the Internet is an effective complement to the traditional TV viewing experience.  It makes sense, if you are watching something on Discovery and a subtopic peaks your interest, the natural thing to do is look it up on the web.

Here are a few more stats:

• Roughly 50% of the Convergence Panel panelists had viewed some streaming content online. The demographics streaming the most included female teens (82%), male teens (64%), men age 18-34 (57%) and men age 35-54 (55%).
• Nearly 60% of panelists and more than 80% of people who watched TV and used the internet had simultaneous sessions - watching TV and being online at the same minute. This group tends to be very heavy users of both TV and internet.
• Teens are the most likely demographic to have simultaneous TV/internet usage, but Adults 35-54 have the most simultaneous usage minutes.
• About 4% of total television viewing occurs when consumers are also using the internet.

If this wasn’t a wake up call for Marketers I don’t know what is!

Things to keep in mind:

TV ad >
Sets up the interest and the need for more information
Leads only the interested individuals directly to your site

Website >
Builds meaningful conversations
Nurtures these new relationships

I’d love to know if you are part of this 31% and how you use TV and the Internet.