Aussie Media Habits: It’s Radio For Breakfast & TV For Dinner

A new study into the media consumption habits of Australians has found that we prefer to listen to the radio in the morning and it’s definitely TV at night.

The study, by Roy Morgan Research, found that Australians’ overall media consumption is higher after dinner compared to breakfast time with 88 per cent of Australians consuming media after dinner compared to 75 per cent at breakfast time.

In the morning the clear breakfast favourite is radio with 27.9 per cent of Australians saying they prefer to listen to radio at breakfast. The other media preferred at breakfast time is reading a print or online newspaper – 16.1 per cent of Australians read a newspaper at breakfast while only 2.5 per cent do so after dinner. Interestingly, 13.8 per cent of Australians read print newspapers which are preferred to online newspapers read by 9.4 per cent of Australians.

Australian Weekday Media Preferences – Breakfast v After Dinner

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When it came to evenings, TV viewing was preferred by 58.2 per cent of Australians compared to 21.9 per cent at breakfast time;

Online activity is preferred by 38.5 per cent of Australians after dinner compared to 24.7 per cent of Australians who like to go online at breakfast. While 21 per cent of Australians like to read a book after dinner but only 5.2 per cent do so at breakfast;

Playing games on a console, computer, mobile phone or tablet is much more strongly preferred after dinner with 18.1 per cent of Australians compared to 6.2 per cent at breakfast time.

The new research on media preferences by time of day also provides deep insights with how different demographic groups are similar or different in what media they prefer to consume and when they prefer to consume it. It shows clear momentum of the internet with the younger generation.

Overall consumption of media at breakfast time declines in younger generations born after 1960. Over 80 per cent of Pre-Boomers and Baby Boomers consume media at breakfast time compared to 77 per cent of Generation X, 72 per cent of Generation Y and just under 70 per cent of Generation Z.

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Commenting on the study, Roy Morgan CEO, Michele Levine, said understanding how diverse consumer groups engage with media at different times of the day is vital to properly targeting advertising to reach consumers in a cost-effective way.

“These sorts of analyses give valuable insights into media receptivity similarities and differences both within and between selected target markets,” Levine said.

“Exploring media preferences in detail is an essential input for developing effective media strategies to reach existing and potential customers.

“It’s so easy to assume the ‘traditional media’ belong in the past. This new research, that specifically focuses on social media and new digital media within the total media context shows clearly that TV is still the preferred media after dinner; radio rules at breakfast. However the overall trends are all foreshadowing a move to a more digital media world.”

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