80% of American mobile users multitask in front of the TV

"While 80% of mobile users multitask in front of TV, 70% say they multitask once a week, and 49% on a daily basis. More than 60% percent check their phones at least “once or twice” during a show with 15% active on their devices the entire time.
– 38% say their mobile activity enhances the broadcast, while another 38% say it’s distracting.
– The top 5 categories that attract multitaskers are reality shows, news, comedy, sports and food.
– 94% of mobile multitaskers communicate while watching TV, while 60% are looking up content. Of the communicators, the most popular activities in order are: texting, talking, email, social networking and IM.
– 44% of the content that multitaskers consume is unrelated to what’s on TV compared to 38% that’s related. 36% look up information about a commercial they just saw. Most multitasking activity, overall, happens during commercial breaks."
Source:  Research from Razorfish & Yahoo, reported by LostRemote, 10th November 2011
The original article is here.  There's no mention of the methodology, but since all shows referred to are Aerican, I'm assuming the study took place in the US.

European Mobile Benchmarks August 2011

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Source:  Data from comScore for the 3 months to August 2011, reported in a press release, 26th October 2011

Data on American text message usage

"Young adults are the most avid texters by a wide margin. Cell owners between the ages of 18 and 24 exchange an average of 109.5 messages on a normal day—that works out to more than 3,200 texts per month—and the typical or median cell owner in this age group sends or receives 50 messages per day (or 1500 messages per month).
Overall, the survey found that both text messaging and phone calling on cell phones have leveled off for the adult population as a whole. Text messaging users send or receive an average of 41.5 messages on a typical day, with the median user sending or receiving 10 texts daily – both figures are largely unchanged from what we reported in 2010. Similarly, cell owners make or receive an average of 12 calls on their cells per day, which is unchanged from 2010"
Source:  Data from Pew Internet and American Life Project 'Americans and Text Messaging', 19th September 2011
Full report from Pew here

Key Ofcom stats for the UK

"Internet
Number of fixed residential broadband connections in the UK - 18.0 million (end 2010).
Proportion of adults with broadband in the UK (fixed + mobile) - 74% (Q1 2011)
Proportion of adults with mobile broadband in the UK - 17% (Q1 2011)
Proportion of adults with a social networking profile - 48% (Q1 2011)
Proportion of people who use their mobile to access the internet -  32% (Q1 2011)
Number of mobile broadband (Dongles/PC datacard) subscriptions - 4.8 million (end 2010)
Landline/mobile phones
Number of residential fixed landlines in the UK - 23.7 million (end 2010)
Number of fixed landlines in the UK, including ISDN channels - 33.4 million (end 2010)
Proportion of adults who personally own/use a mobile phone in the UK - 91% (Q1 2011)
Proportion of adults who live in a home that has a mobile phone but no landline phone in the UK - 15% (Q1 2011)
How many PAYG mobile subscriptions in the UK ? - 51% (Q1 2011)
Number of text messages sent per mobile subscription per month - 133 (in 2010)
Number of 3G mobile subscriptions in the UK - 33.1 million (end 2010)
Digital television
Proportion of UK homes with digital TV 93% (Q1 2011)
Number of TVs in the UK 60m (end 2010)
Number of HD TVs in the UK - 24m (Q1 2010)
Number of minutes of TV people aged 4+ watch each day - 242 (average in 2010)
Number of UK homes with Freeview on any set - 74% (Q1 2011)
Proportion of UK homes with Freeview on their main set - 38% (Q1 2011)
Digital radio
Proportion of households with access to a DAB Digital Radio - 37% (Q1 2011)
Proportion of listener hours through a digital platform (DAB, online, DTV) - 26.5% (Q1 2011)
Number of digital radio stations - 216 (end 2009)
Number of local radio stations (excluding community stations) - 344 (July2011)
Number of national radio stations - 21 (July 2011)"
Source:  Ofcom's latest facts and figures on the UK, retrieved 4th August 2011

Mobile usage in the big 5 markets in Europe

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Source:  Data from comScore MobiLens, reported in a press release, 29th July 2011
Note - lots more data in the full press release

How affluent Europeans use their mobile phones

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Source:  Press release from Synovate for the 2011 EMS Survey, 14th March 2011

Note on methodology & sample - "EMS 2011 represents the highest-earning 13% of the population in 20 markets across Western and Central Europe. Refinements to the design of this, the 16th release of EMS, include consumption of media brands via mobile applications and mobile websites. This is the first year that an EMEA-wide set of data, combining results from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, has enabled at-a-glance comparisons between markets as diverse as the Czech Republic and Cameroon, mirroring the multi-region planning priorities of many advertisers. From next year, we’ll be including Turkey too."

£15.1m was raised for Comic Relief 2011 through text messaging

"Mobile phone users could donate to Comic Relief by pledging £1, £5 or £10 by texting "Yes" to number 70010, organised by Mobile Interactive Group (MIG). Mobile operators waived their usual fees.
Mobile donations accounted for £15.1m of the £74.4m raised so far.
Radha Chakraborty, operations director for Comic Relief, said: "SMS donations provide a valuable channel for us and appeal to a wide audience."
Earlier that week, those following the trek of a clutch of celebrities across the Kaisut Desert in northern Kenya could donate £1 by texting "DESERT" to 70011, while a third number was set up for viewers to donate £5 for the airing of a documentary about the trek on 18 March."
Source:  Brand Republic, 3rd May 2011