ZenithOptimedia: Western Europe Leads Adoption of New Media

LONDON: In its New Media Forecasts report, ZenithOptimedia finds that the IPTV market is growing slower than smartphone and tablet penetrations, with Western Europe leading adoption for all three technologies.

Across the 19 markets surveyed, smartphones were found to be the most prevalent device, with an average penetration of 36 percent in 2012. Penetration varies widely though market to market, from 73 percent in Sweden to 18 percent in Brazil. The forecast is that penetration will double to 72 percent across all 19 markets by 2015.

Tablet penetration averaged 5 percent last year, but exceeded 15 percent in five markets: Australia, France, Ireland, the Netherlands and the U.S. By 2015, ZenithOptimedia expects penetration to average 13 percent across the 19 markets, ranging as high as 45 percent in France and 50 percent in Ireland.

IPTV is shown as the slowest-growing of the three technologies. Forecasts are for average penetration to rise by 36 percent between 2012 and 2015, from 6.6 percent to 9 percent. IPTV also has the widest range of adoption among the 19 markets. By 2015, it is expected that penetration will reach 91 percent in the Netherlands, but remain at 1 percent in Russia.

In spotlighting individual markets, Norway had the highest average penetration in 2012. Sweden and Denmark also feature in the top 5, reflecting Scandinavia’s enthusiasm for the Internet and digital media. All five of the top markets were in Western Europe. The highest-ranked market outside of Western Europe was Canada, in sixth place. Australia was seventh, and was the highest from the Asia Pacific. By 2015, however, ZenithOptimedia predicts that the Netherlands will take the top spot. This is thanks to its IPTV adoption. It is estimated that in 2012 27 percent of households in the Netherlands had IPTV. By 2015, this is forecast to reach 91 percent.

ZenithOptimedia expects Western Europe to remain at the forefront of the adoption of new media technology, accounting for four of the top five and seven of the top ten markets in 2015.