MUMBAI ; Television viewers in the US have more choices than ever, both in terms of how and where they tune in and in what they watch.

In the first of a three-part insight series, Nielsen looked at viewership and advertising across five traditional primetime genres and found that dramas account for the largest share of viewership, timeshifting and ad spend, while reality programmes claimed the largest share of product placements.

The Advertising & Audiences Report also found that, when watching at home, 43 per cent of timeshifted primetime broadcast programming is played back the same day it was recorded and 88 per cent is played back within three days.

Other primetime TV findings include:

- During primetime, the share of viewership devoted to sitcoms has risen steadily over the past three years.

 
- More than half of all broadcast TV product placements during primetime took place on reality programmes (4,664).

- $72 billion was spent on TV advertising in the US in 2011, with $14 billion allocated during these five traditional primetime genres.