One recent Sunday evening, my wife and I sat down to watch the hilarious Fox sitcom Arrested Development. When a commercial break came up, I instinctively grabbed for the cable box remote to fast-forward the DVR. But then I realized we were watching the show live, not time-shifted. And it suddenly occurred to me just how long it’s been since we watched a TV show in real time.

With so much (too much!) going on in our lives, we typically watch TV on a time-delayed basis and whiz right by the ads, so I was disappointed to have to wait for the laughs to resume. I don’t hate commercials; I’d just rather maximize my free time as best I can.

This little reverie got me thinking about all of the other changes that have occurred in my media consumption habits in the past several years. For example, I haven’t watched network or local news in ages. If I want to know what’s going on, I jump on the Web. Same for the weather. To get tomorrow’s forecast, I don’t have to sit through the awful news anchor banter and photo-op fluff pieces. I get what I need in about 30 seconds on weather.com.

Naturally I was quite interested when I came across a press release on a study by Arbitron and Edison Media Research called Internet and Multimedia 2005: The On-Demand Media Consumer. The study focuses on devices and services that give people more control over the media they consume.

Big impact

An estimated 43 million Americans choose to record TV programming to watch at a different time (using technology such as a VCR or TiVo/DVR). Clearly there is a love affair here: Eighty-one percent of owners say they “like” or “love” using their TiVo/DVR. In addition, more than half of TiVo/DVR owners (55 percent) say that their digital recorder has had a “big impact” on their life. (Can I get an amen?) Nearly six in 10 (57 percent) broadband Internet users say that their Internet connection has had a “big impact on their life.” (Can I get another?)

Of the consumers who do watch TV at its regularly scheduled time, 32 percent say they do not record because it is too difficult or time-consuming. One-third say they do not want to make decisions about what they are going to watch in advance. (I think perhaps these people need some kind of talking-to.)

Twenty-nine percent of those who record TV to watch at a different time say the ability to skip through TV ads is the primary reason they record TV programming. Nineteen percent say both the ability to skip commercials and the ability to time-shift viewing are equally important. However, like me, the majority say that fitting their TV viewing into their schedule is most important.

“The study shows that consumers, while still using traditional media, have great enthusiasm and passion for on-demand media,” says Bill Rose, senior vice president of Marketing, U.S. Media Services, Arbitron Inc., in a company press release. “Traditional and Internet broadcasters need to adjust their approaches to accommodate this increasingly important consumer segment.”

More than 10 percent of Americans can be classified as heavy on-demand media consumers. These consumers own one or more on-demand media devices such as a TiVo/DVR, an iPod or other portable MP3 player and also exhibit behaviors that show a heavy tendency toward an on-demand media lifestyle. About one-fourth are medium on-demand media users. And approximately one in six (17 percent) exhibit no on-demand media traits.

Additional tidbits from the study:

  • Thirty-six percent of Americans say they are watching less television compared to a few years ago, and 12 percent say they are watching less television because they are spending more time with DVDs.
  • The monthly Internet radio and Internet video audience represents an estimated 55 million consumers. In January 2000, 10 percent of Americans had watched Internet video or listened to Internet radio/audio in the last month. As of January 2005, 22 percent of Americans watched or listened to Internet broadcasting in the past month, and 13 percent have done so in the past week.
  • Fifty-seven percent of weekly Internet radio users say they have listened while researching a product or service online, while nearly half (46 percent) have listened while shopping and purchasing online.
  • The ability to “listen to content not found elsewhere,” “to control/choose music played” and “more music variety” are the top reasons consumers listen to Internet radio. Fewer people say that “less DJ chatter” and “clearer signal/sound” are the main reasons they listen to Internet radio.
  • Broadband connections are just as common as dial-up connections in American households. Forty-eight percent of people with home Internet access have broadband and 48 percent have dial-up service.
  • Awareness of XM Satellite Radio has tripled since 2002, from 17 percent to 50 percent, while awareness of Sirius Satellite Radio has increased even more significantly, from 8 percent to 54 percent.
  • Twenty-two percent of radio personality Howard Stern’s listeners say they are “very” or “somewhat” likely to follow him to satellite radio.  (In 2004, he announced that when his over-the-air radio contract expires he will be taking his show to Sirius.) Sixteen percent of Americans say they currently listen to Stern.

The findings are based on a January 2005 survey consisting of 1,855 telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of Arbitron’s Fall 2004 radio diarykeepers. This study as well as previous studies can be downloaded free of charge via the Arbitron and Edison Media Research Web sites at www.arbitron.com and www.edisonresearch.com.