PRESS RELEASE
The latest Australian Multi-Screen Report, covering the third quarter of calendar 2013, shows Australians overwhelmingly prefer Live to recorded television, and that they gravitate towards the largest available screen.
Overall use of the in-home television set is steady year-on-year, and people’s viewing patterns are broadening with their continued uptake of new and different screen types.
Broadcast TV viewing is robust, at nearly 96 hours per Australian each month. Smaller, mobile devices create additional opportunities to consume television and other video content, complementing the time people spend watching TV in their homes.
Majority of screen time spent with broadcast TV; most viewing is Live; household take-up of new technologies continues to grow
Internet capable TVs are now in 22 per cent of homes (18 per cent in Q3 2012).
With the analogue switch-off imminent, 99 per cent of homes had converted to digital terrestrial television (DTT) by Q3 2013, and 89 per cent had converted every working TV in their homes.
An estimated 37 per cent of homes now have tablets, up from 22 per cent in Q3 2012 and 33 per cent in Q2 2013. Across the online population aged 16+, people claim to spend an average 50 minutes (0:50) per month using tablets to watch any online video, which can include both broadcast TV and non-broadcast content.
67 per cent of Australians aged 16+ own a smartphone (56 per cent in Q3 2012). People spend an average 1:20 per month watching any online video on their phones.
Australians watch an average of 5:18 per month of any internet video via PCs/laptops (both television broadcast and non-broadcast content).
PVR penetration has been relatively steady in recent quarters, now in 53 per cent of Australian homes (50 per cent in Q3 2012).
This edition of the Multi-Screen Report contains a special study on viewing of recorded broadcast TV content (Playback) that happens beyond eight and up to 28 days from original broadcast time.
To put such viewing in context: Australians spend an average 95 hours and 51 minutes (95:51) per month watching broadcast TV on conventional in-home television sets.
93 per cent of that television viewing is Live. The other 7 per cent (7:10) is to broadcast content that people record and Playback within seven days.
Recorded material viewed between eight and 28 days later however is minimal. For example, in weeks 9-12, 2013, such activity comprised only a 0.93 per cent share of all viewing, and resulted in a TARP gain of just 0.12 per cent.
Total TV Screen Use steady; Live viewing drives ‘shape of the day’
Total Use of the television set is stable year-on-year and the way people use their sets is evolving with the progressive adoption of new technologies attached to the TV set (such as PVRs, games consoles and ‘over-the-top’ services) and also as Internet capable televisions become more commonplace.
The continued increase in recorded TV content people Playback within seven days, along with Other TV Screen Usage, balance the slight decline in Live Viewing.
The amount of Total TV Screen Use and how it is used vary by age. Compared to other age groups, people 13-17 devote the greatest proportion of their time with the TV set to Other Usage however they still spend about two thirds of their screen time watching broadcast television.
Looking at the ‘shape of the day’, Live viewing drives overall screen use, building to the prime time peak.
Each age group uses the TV screen differently overall as well as at different times during the day.
For example, overall TV use in the morning (TARP %) is greatest among children under 12, while Other TV Screen Usage during the day by teens is large compared to All People and is also a major part of teens’ overall TV use during the day.
Summary of key findings: Q3 (July-September) 2013:
• Australians watch on average 95 hours and 51 minutes (95:51) of broadcast TV on traditional television sets per month.
• 93% of all TV viewing is Live, with Playback of broadcast content that viewers record and watch within seven days accounting for 7% (7:10 per month).
• Playback between eight and 28 days of original broadcast accounts for less than 1 per cent of all TV viewing in the 28-day period.
• 99% of homes have converted to digital terrestrial television (DTT), with 89% having converted every working set in the home to DTT.
• 53% of homes have PVRs (50% in Q3 2012).
• Household internet penetration is stable at 80%.
• Australians spend on average 38:45 per month online.
• Internet-capable TVs are in 22% of homes (18% in Q3 2012).
• 37% of homes have tablets (22% in Q3 2012).
Across the online population aged 16+, people spend an average 50 minutes per month using tablets to watch any online video, which can include both broadcast TV and non-broadcast content.
• 67% of Australians aged 16+ own a smartphone (56% in Q3 2012) and spend on average 1:20 per month viewing any video on these devices (1:20 a year earlier).
• 12.3 million Australians watch some video (both television broadcast and non-broadcast content) on the Internet each month: an average of 5:18 per month. Such viewing is highest among people aged 18-24 (10:50).
• 92.8% of all video viewing – including broadcast and non-broadcast video – is on the traditional TV set, with other devices accounting for 7.2%:
o 95:51 per month on the TV set
o 5:18 per month online via PCs/laptops
o 1:20 per month on smartphones
o 50 minutes per month on tablets