9 Million Viewers Tune in to Wednesday Night TV, but Are They Actually Watching?

          According to TVbythenumbers.com, Fox is the number one network for adults aged between 18-49, but CBS still has the most amount of total viewers. On Wednesday nights starting at 8:00 pm Fox premiers, the X Factor. People ages between 18-49 rate the show a 3.3 and the share is a 9. A rating is the estimated percentage of the universe of TV households tuned into a program in the average minute. A share is the percent of households using a television who are tuned to a specific program, station or network in a specific area in time.  This means that 3.3 people tune in to this program in the average minute and 9% of households tune into this program of those with a TV. The X factors rating has gone down three tenths from last week (in September) 3.6. On Wednesday there are 13 different shows from ABC to NBC, but The X Factor is on from 8:00-10:00 and is the start of the series.
      Half of users who own a cell phone use it while their watching TV. This is because cell phones have become a diversion for people while watching TV. The Pew Research Center interviewed 88% of American adults who own cell phones and asked them if they use their phone to engage in activities while watching TV. The results came back as follows, 38% use their cell phones during commercial breaks, 22% check things they they see on TV or about the show they are watching, and 6% vote while watching a reality show. It's interesting that cell phone owners living in households making more than $50,000 a year are more likely to participate in interactive television experiences than those in lower income. From experience, my mom is an addict of the home shopping network. She sits there in her bed as she watches with her phone in one hand and credit card in the other. After watching all of the details about a product, she calls in once the woman says "this object is up for purchase." It's clear that being raised in a middle-class family my mom is an example of having interactive experiences with the TV while on her phone. She is not trying to pass time during commercials, but is keeping herself addicted by calling in to buy. There is an equal percentage of men and women who own cell phones and from the ages of 18-24, 81% of people have cell phones. Today, there are more smartphone owners than any other phone, but they use them during their viewing experience to check if something was true or not on the television.
      I have an iPhone and I am a part time Nanny, as I watch TV with the kids there are a lot of cartoons and I will sit there wondering whose voice is the character I am watching. I end up using google.com to find the answer and then once I find out my anxiety decreases. Cell phones are the reason why certain TV shows loose viewers because of cell phones. If they cannot reach their viewers and keep them in-tuned to their show, then their ratings will continue to decrease. I suggest creating apps that are related to the TV show that will allow viewers to comment, tweet, and maybe play a game while the show is on, but is this maybe too much?