70% of TV audience goes online while viewing

According to a survey commissioned by video search service, Blinkx, almost 70% of adults in Britain go onto the internet while watching television.

Younger viewers are particularly fond of going online while watching TV – over 20% of 16-24 year olds said this was something they always did.

The survey found that 30% of those going online while watching television did so to search for products or services featured in the programme they were watching, while 27% searched for information on advertised products.

Blinkx also found that it is becoming increasing popular to watch TV programming online. Over 50% of British adults with access to the internet watch programming online. One in five watch full-length television shows, movies or sporting events online.

News is the most popular online viewing category, viewed by 31% of men and 22% of women with online access.

Sport is watched online by 27% of men but only 8% of women, while comedy is popular with younger viewers. Around 35% of 16-24 year olds watch comedy content online, compared with 16% of those over the age of 55.

The survey was conducted for Blinkx by Harris Interactive. It took place in February 2008 and covered a representative cross section of 2,471 adults in the United States and 2,228 users over the age of 16 in the United Kingdom.