Two hundred respondents will be recruited and asked to download a software meter that will remain on the device for one year.

ABC said the study promises to be the first to provide a view of actual iPad behaviour, rather than self-reported data.

Peter Seymour, executive vice president of strategy and research for Disney Media Networks, said: “We have been actively studying consumer tablet usage through our own data for two years, and believe Nielsen’s proprietary technology has the potential to deliver unprecedented additional details about consumer viewing patterns.”