Web doesn't threaten other media
From: Newsbytes News Network
By Steven Bonisteel
10/05/99- Updated 05:14 PM ET
People who spend a lot of time surfing the Web aren't necessarily cutting back
on television or other sources of news and entertainment, a study released Tuesday says.
In fact, the every-other-year Pathfinder Study from Arbitron NewMedia showed that the
heaviest users of the Web may spend slightly more time reading and listening to the radio
or their own stereos than people who don't use the Internet at all.
Arbitron said surfers who sat in front of their computers an average of 4.5
hours in a day (the high end of the Pathfinder survey) watched only slightly less
television (about 12 minutes less) than non-surfers.
How do heavy users of the Web find the time? Arbitron spokesman Thom Mocarsky
told Newsbytes that many Net- connected survey respondents reported being online and using
other media simultaneously.
"They would either be listening to radio and surfing the Web, or watching
television and surfing the Web," Mocarsky said.
Roberta McConochie, director of research for Arbitron, said the fact that
consumers seem to be multitasking when it comes to the Web and radio or television
"points to the possibility of some innovative cross-media promotion and
programming."
McConochie also said, "The slightly lower levels of TV viewing among the
Web population appear more related to the income, education and age profile of Web users
rather than to any displacement by Internet use."
The Pathfinder survey of 5,500 US adults found that, during the peak hour for
Web use at work (9 a.m. to 10 a.m.), 26% of heavy Web users reported listening to the
radio -- a higher share than reported for those who don't use the Internet at all.
Arbitron said the peak hour for Internet use at home was between 9 p.m. and 10
p.m., when 52% of heavy Web users reported that they watched television, only slightly
lower level than that of all Web users (55%) or the total population (59%).
When asked how long they spent with various forms of media in the day, those who
don't use the Web reported watching television for an average of 3.7 hours. Heavy Web
users reported an average of 3.4 hours.
The off-line crowd averaged 2.4 hours listening to radio, 0.7 hours listening to
audio tapes or CDs, 0.7 hours reading newspapers, and 0.4 hours reading magazines. Heavy
Web users (more than three hours a day) spent 2.9 hours with the radio, 1.4 hours
listening to tapes or CDs, 0.8 hours reading newspapers, and 0.6 hours reading magazines.
The survey also matched specific preferences in music, television programs, and
reading material with Web-use levels. Arbitron says heavy Web users prefer classic rock,
"The Simpsons" television show, and the business sections of their newspapers.
When they're not watching "The Simpsons," heavy Web users' favorite cable
television networks are The Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel.
Mocarsky said the share of the US population getting online continues to grow.
"We've seen a four-fold increase in Web users since 1995," he said.
"When we first did Pathfinder, we found 10% of adults between the ages of 16 and 74
used the Web. In 1997 that figure was 25%. In 1999 that figure is 39%."
Arbitron says additional data from the current Pathfinder surveys will be
released throughout 1999 and 2000.
Arbitron is on the Web at: http://www.arbitron.com/.
Copyright © 1999, Newsbytes News Network LLC. All rights
reserved.
Top of Page
