One-third of all viewers watch TV away from their home.

More than one out of every three television viewers (35 percent) spend some portion of their weekly television viewing hours at a location other then their own home, according to a new study by Arbitron Inc.

The Arbitron Away-From-Home Television Viewing Study, conducted at the end of 2006, also found that the younger the viewer, the more likely television is watched away from home. Nearly two-thirds of those aged 12 to 17 (64 percent) watched TV away from home at least once per week; nearly half of 18-24 year olds (49 percent) reported doing so while just over 23 percent of those age 55 + watch TV away-from-home at least once per week.

Perception is Not Reality

A recent survey conducted by Arbitron via the Web found that ad agency and TV executives believe that only 15 percent of viewers watch TV away from home. However, The Arbitron Away-From-Home Television Viewing Study shows that out-of-home viewing is more ubiquitous and more important than most industry insiders believe.

– More than one-third (35 percent) of Americans age 12 and older (approximately 88 million) watched TV away-from-home in the past week.

– Twenty-five percent of respondents watch TV at someone else’s home, 11 percent watch television at a restaurant/bar, 7 percent at work, and 5 percent at a hotel/motel or vacation home; 12 percent have watched at any other location away-from-home.

– Fifty-eight percent of those who viewed TV away-from-home in the past week watched during the Fringe/News period, while 55 percent watched during Access/Prime Time. These are the two most popular dayparts for away-from-home TV viewing.

– Those who watch TV away-from-home spend an average of two hours and seven minutes viewing away-from-home in typical day.

· Sporting events are not the only types of programs watched away from home. Nearly equal percentages have watched a sporting event (20 percent), a local station’s news broadcast (19 percent) and an episode of a TV series (18 percent) in the last week away-from-home.

– Heavy TV viewers (those who report having watched 5+ hours of TV in the last 24 hours) are more likely to watch television away-from-home.

– People who watch TV away-from-home are less likely to tune away from commercials than when viewing at home.

“The away-from-home TV audience has great potential for advertisers provided it can be quantified,” said Carol Edwards, vice president, Television Services, Arbitron Inc. “This study provides context about the nature of away-from-home TV viewing. The Arbitron Portable People MeterTM will, for the first time, give the industry the capability of capturing and quantifying the audience on an ongoing basis.”

Study results are consistent with PPM findings on away-from-home viewing

The Arbitron Away-From-Home Television Viewing Study was fielded to examine specific viewing location, program choice and away-from-home behavior. The findings are also consistent with those previously reported by the Arbitron Portable People Meter (PPMTM) system in Houston.

– Time spent viewing away-from-home is around two hours in a typical day. Results from this study showed that time spent viewing TV away-from-home in the past 24 hours is two hours and seven minutes on a national basis. PPM data from Houston-Galveston in September 2005 showed similar average time spent viewing TV away-from-home of one hour and 45 minutes each day.

– Away-from-home viewing is consistent for both genders. This study and PPM data show that women are almost as likely as men to watch TV in some place other than their homes in the last week.

– African-American television viewers are more likely to watch away-from-home. Both Houston PPM data from April/May 2005 and the away-from-home study show that African-American respondents generated the highest percentage of their viewing away-from-home.

= Young men are more likely to watch TV out-of-home during Prime Time; women are more likely to watch out-of-home during the afternoon. This study and the Houston PPM data reveal that men 18 to 49 watched more during Prime Time and women watched more in the afternoon.