Nielsen: 11 million Americans watched wireless video in the fourth quarter

Mobile video is slowly gaining traction among U.S. consumers, according to new figures from The Nielsen Company.
The market research firm found 11 million Americans consumed wireless video during the fourth quarter of 2008, up 9% from the previous quarter. And the average monthly time spent viewing mobile TV among video consumers inched up 2% – to three hours and 42 minutes – from the prior quarter.
Interestingly, men continue to watch video on their phones more than women, while women consume video on the Internet and television more than men, Nielsen found.
“Viewers appear to be choosing the best screen available for their video consumption, weighing a variety of factors including convenience, quality and access,” Nielsen Company executive Susan Whiting said in a prepared statement. “It is clear that TV remains the main vehicle for viewing video, although online and mobile platforms are an increasingly important complement to live, home-based television.”
Nielsen’s figures include consumers of mobile Web-based video, which appears to be gaining traction among consumers. The growth of wireless TV was highlighted again last week when MobiTV notched its 6th millionth viewer.