Survey: Live TV viewing duration declining

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NEW YORK, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- People are watching less live television in preference for time-shifted programming and multitasking with smartphones and/or tablets, a U.S. survey says.

A cross-media survey report by Nielsen shows live viewing in the second quarter of 2012 averaged 4 hours and 18 minutes a day, down 5 minutes a day from the second quarter of 2011.

In contrast, average DVR playback -- watching time-shifted programming -- was at 22 minutes a day, up from 20 minutes a year ago, Media Daily News reported Thursday.

And almost 40 percent of Americans say they indulge in device multitasking, using their tablets or smartphones while watching TV, at least once a day.

That figure rises to 50 percent in 18- to 24-year-olds who are dividing their attention while watching TV, Nielsen said.

A significant use of smartphones while watching TV is shopping, the survey found, an activity indulged in by almost 30 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds.