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Young Adults Spend More Time With Digital Media Than Live TV

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U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 34 spent 30.0 billion hours with digital media in Q4 2016, notes ComScore's 2017 U.S. Cross-Platform Future in Focus report, but only 19.1 billion hours with live TV. They used mobile devices for most of that digital content (23.1 billion hours), which means they spent more time on mobile devices than they do in front of a TV set.

That clear preference for digital media (which includes websites, apps, and streamed video) is a sign of things to come. The division was even for adults age 35 to 44, who spent 26.6 billion hours with live TV and 27.4 billion hours with digital media. Adults 55 and over clearly prefer live TV, watching 37.0 billion hours in Q4 compared to 16.4 with digital media.

Looking only at households that stream over-the-top video, ComScore finds 45.1 percent also have a cable account and 24.3 percent have satellite. However, 15.2 percent combine a streaming service and an over-the-air antenna, while 15.4 percent rely on streaming services only. That means 30.6 percent of U.S. streaming households are cordless.

Roku is the clear leader in streaming hardware, ComScore notes, with 18 percent of the U.S. streaming box or stick market. Next up is Amazon FireTV with 12 percent, Google Chromecast with 8 percent, and Apple TV with 5 percent. The Roku number includes Roku OS TVs, as well. Boxes and sticks are the most popular way of streaming OTT content, the report notes.

"Desktop and mobile media usage are converging with traditional TV and OTT, as consumers watch their favorite content through any number of devices, including smart TVs, streaming boxes, and gaming consoles," ComScore notes. "The cross-platform era will be defined by a media-agnostic view of the consumer."

Fore more results, download the full 2017 U.S. Cross-Platform Future in Focus report (registration required).

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