Zenith: TV Remains “By Far” the Most Popular of All Media

LONDON: Zenith’s Media Consumption Forecasts report finds that mobile internet consumption is now growing at the expense of all other media, including TV, which still dominates despite recent declines.

The amount of time people around the world devote to using mobile internet is forecast to increase by 27.7 percent this year, driving a 1.4-percent increase in overall media consumption, according to Zenith. The consumption of all other media is expected to decline by 3.4 percent in total.

Desktop internet consumption grew quickly in the early part of this decade, peaking at 52 minutes a day in 2014. However, desktop consumption is now in decline, as users switch to mobile devices. Zenith forecasts that people across the world will spend on average 86 minutes a day using mobile internet this year, compared to 36 minutes using desktop internet. The region most heavily skewed toward mobile internet consumption is the Asia Pacific, where 73 percent of internet consumption is mobile. North America follows closely behind, with a mobile share of 72 percent.

Zenith forecasts that the average time spent with mobile internet globally will grow 27.7 percent this year, while time spent with desktop internet will fall 15.8 percent. All traditional media will shrink this year: cinema by 0.5 percent, outdoor by 0.8 percent, television by 1.5 percent, radio by 2.4 percent, newspapers by 5.6 percent and magazines by 6.7 percent.

The growth of internet consumption has driven a 7.9-percent increase in the total consumption of all media between 2010 and 2015, from 403 minutes a day to 435. Zenith expects global media consumption to average 448 minutes a day in 2018.

Even though traditional TV has seen declines, it still remains the most popular of all media globally, attracting 177 minutes of consumption a day in 2015. Internet consumption came second at 110 minutes a day. Television accounted for 41 percent of global media consumption in 2015, and Zenith expects it will still account for 38 percent in 2018, when the internet will account for 31 percent.

“Mobile technology is transforming the way people around the world consume media, and is expanding overall media consumption,” said Jonathan Barnard, Zenith’s head of forecasting. “It provides traditional media owners the opportunity to reach people and places they’ve never had access to previously, and gives consumers entirely new ways to find and enjoy compelling content.”