TiVo’s Research Says Only 38 Percent of TV Viewing is Live

Hey, this one’s about us! Well, really, it’s about something much bigger than us. We don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the television landscape is changing drastically, rapidly, and this is just the latest proof. We crunched some numbers, and it seems that only 38 percent of television viewing is live. After tracking anonymous usage across 2 million TiVo devices, we saw that delayed TV or online on-demand content drives the remaining two thirds.

We also took a look at some of TiVo’s other offerings – Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu Plus, to name a few – and for broadband users, the number shrinks to a puny 27 percent.  This shouldn’t be too surprising, since we already know that Neflix is the 15^th most-watched “network” in the country!

But what does it mean? Well, like we said, things are changing. A lot. While we used to gather around the tube for massive, collective moments, the television experience has become increasingly segmented. And what this new, second-by-second data points to is that it’s all about the viewer. As our own Tara Maitra, SVP and General Manager of Content and Media Sales, put it, “It really has become all about whatever they want to watch, whenever they want to watch it.”

It’s kind of one of those “the future is now” moments, isn’t it?

Even the events that millions of people are watching together – the Super Bowl, the Oscars, etc – are often recorded and time-shifted, either for commercials or instant replay. For the viewer, this is an unparalleled time of choice and personal power. But for the television industry, this presents new challenges to deliver content across multiple platforms, find new ways to market to its public, and stay on the cutting edge of content and social media trends. Quite frankly, we’re exhausted just thinking about it.

So tell us. Do you watch TV live anymore, ever? Or is your finger constantly on the FFW button? Also, we’re curious – does this make you feel in any way like you’re missing out on a collective experience? Or has that conversation just moved into a different room, so to speak? Sound off below!