Studies have found that women typically spend more time in front of the TV than men do, but the results of a new Nielsen study indicate that equipping men with game consoles could redress the imbalance. The 7th generation of game consoles almost completely, but not totally, restores gender balance in TV time, according to a Nielsenwire blog post.
US women aged 18-34 watched an average 4 hours 11 minutes of TV per day this past March, according to Nielsen’s research. Men spent 3 hours 34 minutes at home in front of TV sets on the average day.
When they factored in the amount of time each day men spent using a 7th generation game console, Nielsen researchers found that “the gender delta” of more than 30 minutes per day was nearly neutralized. Women were found to have spent an average 22 minutes per day using the game consoles, while men 18-34 spent 48 minutes per day using them. That narrows the TV time gender gap by more than two-thirds, Nielsen notes.
The extra TV time prompted by game console use has value, giving advertisers more opportunity to target consumers, Nielsen notes. Moreover, given the expanded range of digital online media access they afford viewers, “the 7th generation game consoles, with their ability to provide different entertainment options, could be considered an electronic godsend for advertisers.”
