MaxxoMedia Digital Media and Entertainment Trends

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Live television is still tops with kids. But when it comes to activities after that, younger kids generally go to DVDs and DVRs, while older kids head to the Internet.

Almost half of kids 6-11 use the Internet, versus one-fifth of those ages 2-5. Not surprisingly, the biggest time slots are weekends, after school and after dinner, according to the Nielsen Company.

Kids 2-5 spend 25 hours per week watching TV and 4.5 hours a week watching DVDs or playing video games. Throw in another 90 minutes for time-shifted DVR programming. Older time-shifting technology is also still a factor: They spend 45 minutes a week with the VCR.

Overall, the 2-11 group averages 28 hours a week, 2.5 hours for DVDs, an hour for DVR, and 18 minutes for VCR usage.

Nielsen found that about half the kids 2-11 use TV, while the other half uses both TV and the Internet. Nielsen says 60% of teenagers and older adults are simultaneous users of TV and the Internet.

When it comes to personal electronics, homes with kids have more technology than homes without kids.

This includes large-screen TVs, portable and in-home video game systems, DVRs, HD TV sets, MP3 players, broadband internet service, and mobile smartphones, according to Nielsen's Home Technology report for the first quarter of 2009.

For example, large-screen TVs were in 72.6% of homes with kids, 57.8% in all homes; broadband service appeared in 82.4% of kid-homes, 66.1% in all homes.

The biggest disparities between households with kids and overall households: In-home video game systems (67.7% for kid homes; 32.1% for all homes); portable game devices (53.8% for kid homes; 21.7% for all homes); and MP3 players (71.8% for kid homes; 41.9% for all homes).

Almost 30% of children in homes list an MP3 player as part of their electronics, with 17% regularly looking at short-videos online. About 16% of homes with young children have a broadband Internet connection.

via MediaPost Publications Kid Media Consumption: TV Tops, But Internet Big Draw 12/14/2009.

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