Recession raises TV viewing in the US: Deloitte

In a year dramatically impacted by the economic recession, consumers have returned to in-home entertainment, showing increased interest in watching television over other types of entertainment.

Deloitte's 2009 ''State of the Media Democracy'' survey reveals a 26 per cent increase in the number of Americans choosing the TV as their preferred type of media as compared to the previous year.

Deloitte's fourth State of the Media Democracy survey assesses media consumption preferences of 2,046 consumers, aged 14 to 75 in the United States, revealing significant trends including a surge in television viewing, the ascension of the game console as a stand-alone media platform, the mobile phone's rapid decoupling of the internet from the desktop and the rise of "tribal" marketing.

Deloitte says the survey results have a margin of error of plus or minus five per centage points.

More than 70 per cent of survey respondents rank watching TV in their top three favourite media activities. And, when ranked alongside activities such as surfing the Web, listening to music or reading, 34 per cent of consumers place it at the top of the list. This is a substantial increase from last year and more than double the per cent selecting the number two choice, the Internet, which came in at 14 per cent.

When watching their favourite TV programming, 86 per cent of survey respondents prefer watching on their television set, enjoying the programming either live, via their DVR/TiVo, or using an ''On Demand'' feature. While less than 10 per cent of Americans say they prefer watching the same content online, a growing number of consumers are using online platforms to watch their favorite TV shows. At the same time, 72 per cent of Americans report that they have been forced to reduce their purchases of other entertainment products like movies, concerts, sporting events, DVDs, CDs and videogames.