Digital v Traditional Media Consumption: Q3 2015

Today sees the launch of GWI’s annual Digital v Traditional Media report.

Placing a spotlight on how media consumption behaviors are evolving globally as well as across age groups and between countries, it looks at time spent online as well as the battle between online and traditional forms of television, radio and press.

Want to know which countries and demographics are leading the charge towards mobile-first consumption? Where online TV is closest to reaching parity with linear television? Or whether time spent on social networking is still rising? This is report you need.

Key headlines include:

• Daily time spent on the mobile web has jumped from 1.24 in 2012 to 2.01 hours in 2015, with the share of internet time captured by smartphones rising from 22% to 33%.

• By some distance, 16-24s are the heaviest daily users of the mobile web, clocking up 3.25 hours. That compares to a much more modest 0.58 hours among 55-64s – the only age group where time spent on PCs and laptops is holding steady. 

• Traditional media remains ahead of digital in just 7 of GWI’s 34 markets – with the UK, US, Australia, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany being the only countries to buck the global trend.

• Across 31 markets where trended data from 2012 onwards is available, daily time spent on linear TV has declined in 26 of them, broadcast radio is down in 23 countries and physical print press has dipped in 10 of them. Meanwhile, online TV has recorded increases in 28 of 31 countries, online radio is up in 20 markets and online press has risen in 26 places.

• Among the specific online media activities, online TV has seen the biggest jump – from 0.58 to 0.74 hours – but the daily average has passed the 1-hour mark among 16-24s as well as in Saudi Arabia, China, Vietnam and Thailand.

• Time devoted to social networking continues to increase, having risen from an average of 1.61 hours in 2012 to 1.77 hours in 2015. It’s by far the most popular online activity and accounts for close to 30% of online time

To find out more about the current state of traditional forms of media at a global level, download a summary of our newDigital Vs Traditional Media Consumption report orget the full report here on PRO Platform.