Data Points: Multiscreen Mania

People juggle more devices while watching TV, but still notice the ads By Lucia Moses

Remember when we just watched TV? As ownership of Internet-connected devices goes up, people are increasingly likely to be surfing and tapping away on their phones, computers and tablets while watching the big screen, according to a Interactive Advertising Bureau report, The Multi-Screen Marketer. The more devices people own, the more likely they are to go online while watching TV. Fans of reality TV shows like Survivor scored especially high on this front, with 81 percent likely to surf and email while watching their show. With all this multitasking, are people even watching the ads? Surprisingly yes—almost half of people with multiple devices at home recalled brands advertised on the screen—perhaps because they’re too busy multitasking to channel-surf during the commercial breaks like they used to.