Online Viewing Also Surpasses DVR Viewing in Several Instances; Largest Segment of Online Television Viewers Are Working Women

SAN MATEO, CA–(EMWNews – July 29, 2008) – A surprisingly high percentage of people are

putting down their remote controls and heading to the Web to watch their

favorite primetime TV shows, according to a new report released

today by Integrated Media Measurement

Inc. (IMMI), a leading provider of consumer behavior and audience

exposure data to media companies and advertisers.

With an increasing number of network television shows available for viewing

on the Web, television viewers are embracing the opportunity. According to

IMMI data, more than 20 percent of people watch some amount of primetime

television programming online.

The IMMI data also tracked participants’ behavior, showing that within the

group of online viewers, 50 percent are watching programming as it becomes

available and appear to be beginning to use the computer as a substitute

for the television set. The other 50 percent are using the Web as a tool

to watch past programming they have missed, or to re-watch segments of

episodes they have already seen.

The data also showed that, in several instances, online viewing of a

particular program was higher than DVR viewing of that same program,

suggesting that the fairly large segment of non-DVR owners are adopting the

computer for time-shifting rather than buying a DVR.

“This is the first study to show there are a significant amount of people

watching primetime shows online who are not watching some portion of those

shows on television,” said Amanda Welsh, head of research for IMMI.

“Everyone’s been talking about the Internet becoming a substitute for

television; however, this is the first

single-source passive data to show that the migration from one platform to

another is actually occurring — and it’s happening fast.”

The report also showed the largest segment of online television viewers are

white, affluent, well educated, working women aged 25-44.

The full report is available for download at

http://www.immi.com/pdfs/OnlineViewership.pdf.

The study was implemented through a research panel built by IMMI that

mirrors U.S. Census results for fundamental demographics in key markets.

IMMI provides thousands of panel members in key markets with a mobile

phone, asking them to carry it with them wherever they go. The mobile

phone is equipped with a technology that creates digital signatures of all

the audio media (television, radio and movies) to which it has been

exposed. IMMI can determine viewing audiences, as well as certain types of

consumer behavior based on a timeline of when the media was viewed or

heard.

Integrated Media Measurement Inc. (IMMI) is the developer of an end-to-end

media measurement system that links media exposure to consumer action.

Using a mobile-phone-based digital monitoring system, IMMI tracks almost

all media 24/7 and helps businesses evaluate the effectiveness of their

advertising campaigns. IMMI is based in San Mateo, Calif. More

information is available at http://www.immi.com.