Multi-screen viewers 'see more TV'

Viewers using interactive devices including mobile phones and tablets in front of the television watch for longer, according to new research.

The rise of multi-screen viewing - watching TV while at the same time using smartphones, laptops or hand-held gaming devices - is particularly popular among the young.

Around eight out of 10 people (86%) with access to TV and the internet have multi-screened, with just under a third (31%) saying they have commented about TV on a second screen.

This figure rises to more than half (56%) for 16-to-24-year-olds.

Researchers found almost two-thirds of multi-screen viewing (64%) sessions were longer than 15 minutes, compared to less than half (47%) when watching with no accompanying activity.

The research by Thinkbox, the marketing body for commercial TV, found multi-screening viewers were more likely to watch advertising breaks as well.

The report, Screen Life: The View from the Sofa, was based on online research among 2,000 people with TV and online access.

Researchers also set up cameras in the rooms of 23 households for a week collecting more than 700 hours of film.

Thinkbox's research and planning director Neil Mortensen said: "Multi-screening is a huge benefit and opportunity for TV advertisers. Not just because it encourages people to watch more TV and more ad breaks - and does not adversely affect ad recognition - but because viewers now have the ability to act on what they see immediately.

"We've always multi-tasked in front of the TV but two screening is an incredibly complementary accompaniment."