The intersection of connectivity, app functionality and mobility have given rise to a new phenomenon. Call it interactive, call it enhanced or social. Whatever you name it, it’s changed the way we watch TV. Just how big is the impact? Huge. Today, 78 percent of Americans watch traditional TV while using another device. And most of us do it on a regular basis. The practice is especially common among smartphone users, almost 70 percent of whom use the mobile web and mobile VOD services regularly while watching TV.
So, what do we do while watching TV? We engage in social commentary on Facebook and Twitter. We complete tasks during commercial breaks. Some of us play smartphone games with the TV as background noise, others keep the Internet within an arm’s length to Google television-related facts on the spot. (What’s the show Peter Dinklage stars in? Game of Thrones. Available streaming, by the way, for as little as 67 cents an episode.)
More than ever, mobile apps have edged their way into our lives. In fact, the average U.S. consumer now spends more time inside mobile applications than watching TV: For every 168 minutes spent watching the tube, we spend another 198 minutes inside mobile apps.
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