Television In Australia Will Die When The Couch Carks It

The TV is still the primary screen in the household, according to the latest Multi-Screen report, with Doug Peiffer, CEO of TV ratings company, OzTam, saying people will continue to turn to TV for a long time to come.

“The Multi-Screen Report shows how life stage impacts media use across devices,” he said. “Teens have always been the lightest TV viewers, and as people get older and have children they stay home more and watch more TV.

“Now however Australians of all ages are viewing more on second screens, and their overall use of the TV screen is growing too. But people still turn to the main household TV first and will continue to do so. The death of TV will follow the death of the couch.”

The report showed that 91.9% of TV viewing in the fourth quarter of last year was done live, with 8.1% watched in playback mode. And around 88% of all video viewing was on a TV set, meaning the box in the corner of the living room remains the main screen for the home, says the report.

In terms of how much drama, news and reality TV we consume, we’re still watching roughly the same amount of TV as we’ve done in previous years. Last year’s habits compare very similarly with 2013, seeing an average of three hours and six minutes sitting in front of the telly per day.

Image from the Multi-Screen report

Predictably, we watch more television during the winter months when it’s cold and we can snuggle up, compared to the summer months.

Internet enabled TVs are also on the rise, with the highest take up in the fourth quarter of 2014. Around 30% of homes have a connected TV, compared to 23% a year ago, the report shows.

People are still using tablets, but they’ve slowed slightly in growth compared to previous quarters.

And smartphone growth among Aussies aged over 16 has increased 5%. Up to 73% from 68% the same time the year before.

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Regional TAM Chair and NBN Television CEO Deborah Wright commented: “This issue of the Multi-Screen Report highlights the continuing dominance of television as the primary screen in the household, and regional viewers are in fact consuming more TV on average per month when compared to 2013. This again showcases the strength of broadcast television and, in particular, regional television.”

Nielsen’s senior vice president of cross platform audience measurement, Erica Boyd added: “Australians have a large appetite for good content and TV sets continue to be the main place audiences go to satisfy this need, supplemented by content viewed on digital technologies. The latest Multi-Screen Report shows TV viewing hours remain relatively stable compared with previous years, with traditional seasonality spikes and life stages continuing to influence consumers’ watching habits. While we’re seeing the increase in mobile devices resulting in increased viewing time on smaller screens, the majority of TV viewing still takes place on traditional sets.”

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