In a Multiscreen World, One Screen Is Trending Downward

The simultaneous use of second-screen devices—smartphones, tablets and desktops/laptops—while watching TV has increased year to year and will continue through at least 2019.

However, 2018 will be the first year in eMarketer’s forecast in which the use of desktops/laptops in this context declines.

The upcoming growth in simultaneous device usage will come mostly from smartphones and secondarily from tablets, as both get used more frequently with TVs.

As with other demographically segmented data, a survey of US internet users by YuMe and Nielsen showed correlations between age and simultaneous device use.

Millennials—defined as those ages 20 to 36 in this study—showed higher rates of simultaneous use of TV with smartphones and desktops/laptops than their older counterparts. The exception was tablets, which millennials were slightly less apt to use than older adults.

These insights are drawn from eMarketer's latest report, "Q1 2018 Digital Video Trends: Monetization, Audience, Platforms and Content." The report examines key events in the digital video industry based on data, trends and business activity in Q1 2018. eMarketer PRO subscribers can access the full report here. Nonsubscribers can learn more here.

And in the latest episode of "Behind the Numbers," eMarketer analyst, and author of the new report, Paul Verna talks about the different areas of digital video: monetization, audience, platforms and content.