TV safe from web for now
Nielsen tracking indicates Internet not pulling viewers
That's the conclusion of a study by Nielsen Media Research, which tracked people during October 1997 and April 1998 in three categories: those who didn't have access to the Internet in either month; those who did have access in both months; and those who didn't have it in October '97 but signed up for the Internet and got it before April '98.
Among the things Nielsen found:
- The Internet-deprived people tended to watch more TV -- their sets were turned on 31% of the 24-hour day -- than those in the other two categories, whose TV sets were on only about 26% of the day.
- The people who got on the Internet between October and April, already lighter viewing households, did not end up watching appreciably less TV even though they began spending some of the leisure time on the Internet. Males 12 years of age and older in these households watched slightly less TV than females 12 and older, but those distinctions already existed before the men and women got on the Internet.
A spokesman for Nielsen says the company plans to do more detailed surveys in the next year, breaking down Internet users who watch TV by demographic categories, specific broadcast and cable networks, and specific dayparts.
