(28 December 2007 5:25 pm)

MUMBAI: About 38 per cent of US consumers watch TV shows online, a jump of 50 per cent in the last eight month period, according to a new media survey from Deloitte & Touche.

The survey also reports that 36 per cent use their cell phones as entertainment devices.

The online survey of 2,081 Americans was conducted from 25 to 31 October, reports Reuters.

About 62 per cent of "millennials" (consumers from 13-to-24-year-olds) use their cell phones as entertainment devices, up from 46 per cent in the previous study conducted between 23 February and 6 March. Among generation X consumers (25-to-41-year-olds), the number grew to 47 per cent from 29 per cent in the earlier survey.

Roughly 54 per cent of those surveyed said they were making their own entertainment content through editing photos, videos or music; 45 per cent said they were producing content for others to see; and 32 per cent said they considered themselves to be "broadcasters" of their own media.

The report states that 54 per cent of consumers socialise via social networking sites, chat rooms or message boards, and 45 per cent maintain a profile on a social networking site.

It also indicates that 85 per cent of consumers still find TV advertising to have the most impact on their buying habits, while online ads are second best, with 65 per cent of consumers saying they have the most impact, beating out magazines at 63 per cent.