Tablets, smartphones and laptops aren’t having the negative effect on television viewing many predicted, according to a new report from Deloitte.

The report, “Survival of the fastest: TV’s evolution in a connected world”, has found that the increase in “second screens” has “barely caused a ripple in TV behaviour, at least so far”.

Mobile devices offer alternative content sources, including YouTube, Hulu and Netflix as well as apps and games that vie for viewers’ attention. But these can’t accommodate people who watch TV with partners or friends.

Although television is often watched with company, this is seldom the case with smaller screens and “lone viewing also tends to be shorter in duration, as does viewing on a smaller screen”.

However, the report also found that some viewers like using second screens to comment on social media platforms as they consume a favourite show or a movie, or can be reminded of a show by seeing other people’s posts about it.

Some broadcasters are harnessing this by offering their own apps for second screens that encourage participation through voting or other mechanisms, offering additional information about the story or cast, and offering exclusive content. However, the report has found that use of these apps remains low, particularly because most television consumption happens in the evening when many users are too tired to contend with a second device.

“Few key performance indicators, such as viewing hours, industry revenues, advertising performance and profitability, appear to be directly affected, positively or negatively, by the rise of the second screen.”

Many viewers reported using the second screen during breaks in programming while others reported using the second screen “in a complementary way”.

It seems few viewers are actually using their second screens to watch TV, in part because of the limited social possibilities with the reduced screen size and because watching video is only “one reason among many” for using second screens, which tend to be equipped to perform myriad other tasks.

Though age has some bearing on the likelihood of a second screen being used to watch TV or other video content, the report says it is not significant. “In the countries surveyed, the use of tablets for watching TV or movies online for 18-34-year-olds was, at most, higher by five percentage points than the average for all respondents.”

Nevertheless, the report recommends that broadcasters make their content available on second screens because “consumers value the option … even if they do not exercise this very often”. — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media