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Media-Screen: Americans Spend Half of Their Spare Time Online


WEBWIRE

Brands need to adapt quickly to shifting media habits and how consumers are engaging with entertainment content in the modern market

(SAN FRANCISCO) - May 7, 2007 – Broadband users are spending 48% (approximately one hour and 40 minutes) of their spare time online in a typical weekday and the trend is increasing across all age groups, finds a new report by research firm Media-Screen. Additionally, the report entitled Netpop | Play, finds that when users are online, 54% of that time is spent accessing activities related to entertainment and communication.

Media-Screen examines how and where broadband users access entertainment content and information online (e.g. learn about new artists, buy related products, read reviews, use a program guide) and finds that media habits of modern consumers are shifting in the wake of iTunes, YouTube, MySpace and other “long tail” entertainment sites.

”Users’ ability to ‘pull’ information and content associated with their favorite genre, artist or title changes the marketing game from gross ratings points to access and advocacy,” says Josh Crandall, managing director of Media-Screen. “Many broadband consumers go online for entertainment, and to talk about entertainment with other fans. Marketers need to leverage that interest and focus on catalyzing a conversation now, instead of just talking to their fans via traditional advertising channels.”

Netpop | Play shows how online entertainment consumption is dramatically affecting conventional marketing and advertising channels and what this means for those in the industry. For instance, search engines and social networking sites are gaining in popularity, influencing an equal number of people as magazines and newspapers. Furthermore, 48% of younger users say they learn about new entertainment through user generation content sites (e.g. community, review and video sharing sites, blogs); by contrast, only 25% say they learn about new entertainment through television.

“Currently, the proportion of advertising resources devoted to the Internet (about seven percent according to ZenithOptimedia) is nominal relative to the value it generates in interest and engagement among fans,” continues Crandall. “We have found that consumers, on a typical weekday, spend more than 40% of their time consuming media online. 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.”

Additional topics covered in Netpop | Play include:
- Online versus offline sources used to learn about entertainment properties (e.g. bands, TV shows, movies, games) and web sites
- Community-based activities (e.g. rate/review a product, publish a personal page, upload a video or audio file)
- Influence of user-generated sources and content
- Fan-related activities (e.g. talk to friends online about title/artist, meet other people online who like title/artist)
- How different psychographic groups access entertainment content online (Refer to Netpop | Portraits - http://www.media-screen.com/portaitsTOC.html for details about the groups)
- Demographics of population and usage among gender, age and income

Netpop | Play is available through prepared reports and custom consulting engagements to address specific needs. For more information about Netpop, please visit www.media-screen.com or call 415-647-1007.

About Netpop
Netpop™ is an ongoing study that marks the maturation of the consumer broadband market in the U.S. The study highlights the diversity within the broadband population, with a special focus on their attitudes and behaviors around advertising, shopping, community, entertainment and mobile devices. Netpop helps companies better understand their customers, constructing an industry-wide framework to drive more successful online products and marketing initiatives. For more information, please visit www.NetpopResearch.com.

About Media-Screen LLC
Media-Screen LLC provides strategic market research services focusing on the online consumer in the US and around the world. Since 1997, the firm’s research and consumer insights have influenced the product development and marketing decisions of companies competing in the digital and physical marketplaces. Based in San Francisco, Media-Screen works with Fortune 1000 companies interested in competing effectively in the modern consumer market. For more information, please visit www.media-screen.com



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