Study says Americans watching more TV (THR)

By Nancy Tartaglione

With Americans pushing the box office to record numbers, many are still enjoying the cost-saving option of staying in and watching TV. The Hollywood Reporter, citing a study by Deloitte, says that 34% of Americans name TV as their favorite medium which reps an increase of 27% over last year.

While 71% of respondents say watching TV is one of their top media choices, only 22% listed going to the movies among their top 3.

Deloitte's State of the Media Democracy report says the Internet, music and books came just behind TV in second through fourth position.

The results suggest that consumers are increasingly looking to stay home for their entertainment rather than open their wallets.

Still, Deloitte's director of insights and innovation Ed Moran expects the box office to remain strong, despite the results of the study.

Moran says audiences are enthralled with in-theater 3D and that moviegoing remains an affordable social experience. Plus, buying a ticket is the only way to see a hot new film early, a good argument for not collapsing distribution windows, notes THR.

"There's a scarcity around movies, created by windowing," Moran said.

TV viewing increased by two hours this year over last, to 17.8 hours a week.

On the advertising front, respondents rated the effectiveness of ads across media. TV was first with 83%, followed by magazines at 50%. The rest were, in order: online, newspapers, radio, billboards, in-theater, DVDs, mobile phones and video games.