The older the viewer, the more TV time is spent watching live or DVR content, according to a recent TDG research, which breaks down how US adults spend their weekly television time by live, on-demand, and digital video recorders. For example, among adults 18-24, live accounts for 41% of TV time, a rate that increases linearly with age to 65% among adults 55+. Though less dramatic, a similar pattern is observed for DVR viewing, which increases from 3% among adults 18-24 to 11% among adults 45+.
Conversely, TV viewership of on-demand programming declines linearly as age increases, from 56% among adults 18-24 to 24% among adults 55+. The tipping point where live tops on-demand occurs very early in the trajectory, between adults 18-24 (41% live / 56% on-demand) and adults 25-34 (47% and 46%, respectively), after which the margin increases with age.
“While it remains true that younger adult cohorts are heavier users of on-demand programming than their elders, live programming remains a significant part of the modern TV experience. Digital video recorders, on the other hand, are on their last leg, no doubt due to on-demand streaming,” the report says.