ZenithOptimedia: Television Still Dominates Global Media Consumption

LONDON: Despite a recent slight decline, television remains by far the most popular of all media globally, attracting 183.9 minutes of consumption a day in 2014, according to the latest figures from ZenithOptimedia.

According to ZenithOptimedia's Media Consumption Forecasts, people will spend an average of 492 minutes a day consuming media in 2015, up 1.4 percent from 485 minutes a day in 2014. This increase will be driven by the rapid growth in internet use, which will increase by 11.8 percent.

Global media consumption increased from an average of 461.8 minutes a day in 2010 to 485.3 minutes a day in 2014, an increase of 5.1 percent, or an average of 1.2 percent a year. During this time, the amount of time people spent using the internet nearly doubled, from an average of 59.6 to 109.5 minutes a day, while time allocated to more traditional media shrank from 402.2 to 375.8 minutes.

ZenithOptimedia is forecasting that between 2014 and 2017, the amount of time spent consuming media around the world will increase by an average 1.4 percent a year, reaching 506 minutes in 2017. Internet consumption is expected to grow by 9.8 percent a year to reach 144.8 minutes a day. The internet’s share of overall media consumption will rise from 12.9 percent in 2010 and 22.6 percent in 2014 to 28.6 percent in 2017.

TV remains dominant, with 183.9 minutes a day in 2014, with internet consumption in a distant second at 109.5 minutes a day. Television accounted for 42.4 percent of global media consumption in 2010, and 37.9 percent in 2014, with ZenithOptimedia predicting that it will still account for more than a third (34.7 percent) by 2017.

Media consumption is highest in Latin America, where people spent an average of 744 minutes consuming media in 2014, and lowest in the Asia Pacific, where consumption averaged just 301 minutes that year. The firm reports that time spent consuming media in the Asia Pacific is growing well ahead of the global average: media consumption increased by 6.7 percent in 2014, and is forecast for average annual growth of 2.9 percent to 2017.

“The average person already spends half their waking life consuming media,” said Jonathan Barnard, ZenithOptimedia’s head of forecasting. “But people around the world are clearly hungry for even more opportunities to discover information, enjoy entertainment and communicate with each other, and new technology is supplying these opportunities. Technology also enables brands to communicate with and learn from consumers in new ways. We expect media consumption to continue to grow for the foreseeable future, multiplying the opportunities for brands to develop relationships with consumers.”