Broadband Users Spend A Lot of Time Online

According to Media-Screen’s "Netpop|Play" report, broadband users in the U.S. spend almost half of their spare time in an ordinary weekday online. This means that a broadband user spends about an hour and 40 minutes of their weekday spare time on the Web.

Communication (27%) and leisure or entertainment (27%) garner the most time, followed by news or information (19%), personal productivity (15%), and Shopping (12%).

The study also indicated that the top two spare time activities for U.S. broadband users are Internet-related. Ninety percent of broadband users send e-mails during their spare time, while 81% visit Web sites for personal reasons. Television viewing (63%) was the third most popular activity.

Online casual gaming (52%), reading magazines/newspapers (52%), and video/DVD viewing (52%) were also popular answers. Instant messaging was a spare time activity for 35% of respondents, while sending text messages was a spare time activity for 26% of the 4,190 respondents to the survey.

The main message of this survey was targeted at marketers, according to Joel Crandall of Media-Screen.

"Currently, the proportion of advertising resources devoted to the Internet is nominal relative to the value it generates in interest and engagement among fans," he said. "As more of the population goes online and there are more marketing channels, it will be imperative for the entertainment industry to know how to effectively allocate marketing and advertising dollars."

Estimates from eMarketer indicate that 5.8% of total media advertising spending in 2006 went towards online efforts in the U.S., and that this figure will jump to 6.6% for 2007. This share of total advertising spending is expected to increase to 10.2% by 2010, and 11.3% by 2011.

If these forecasted numbers are met, it would indicate a huge increase from the 2.5% share online advertising efforts had in 2002.

Marketers should always follow the eyes and ears of their audience, and with broadband continually extending its reach in the U.S. this shifting mandate will test their flexibility and adaptability.

Sources:

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?1004916