Most Australians are watching more broadcast TV than last year, despite the proliferation of mobile devices.
The vast majority of all video viewing- 89%- is on the traditional TV set, and 92.2% is live, with just 7.8% watched within seven days of the original broadcast.
That’s according to the Australian Multi-Screen Report from OzTAM, Regional TAM and Nielsen for the first quarter of 2014, released today.
People watched an average of 93 hours and 16 minutes of broadcast TV each month on traditional TV sets, up 37 minutes on the same quarter a year earlier.
The increases across age groups ranged from 3:29 minutes for under-12s to 44 minutes for 18-24s, 57 minutes for 35-49s and 11 minutes for people 65+.
The only drop occurred among the 50-64s, who watched on average 37 minutes less per month.
Most age groups increased their playback viewing time year-on-year, by an average of 27 minutes each month.
The report estimates 54% of homes have PVRs and 14% have two or more. Internet capable TVs are in 27% of homes, up from 21% in Q1 2013.
Australians spent 7 hours and 48 minutes per month viewing video online such as internet-delivered catch up TV on a PC or laptop.
“The latest Multi-Screen Report provides an opportunity to reconsider some stereotypes about Australians’ TV habits,” said OzTAM CEO Doug Pfeiffer. “For example, while people 50+ watch the most TV the drop off in younger audiences is often over-stated, and kids and 18-24s have actually increased their TV viewing on TV sets year-on-year.
“Though 18-24s are the heaviest viewers of video on connected devices, two-thirds of their viewing is still to broadcast TV. And the time over-50s spend watching online video each month on computers, tablets and mobiles shows Australians of all age groups are embracing the additional viewing opportunities new screens provide.”
Here are the demo breakdowns:
Kids
• Overall TV use in the morning is proportionately greatest among children aged 0-12.
• Under-13s are more likely than the population as a whole to use their TV sets for other uses (such as gaming, online activities on the TV, and playback beyond the 7-day consolidated viewing window).
• Even so, kids spend two thirds of their TV screen time watching live TV: on average 65:06 per month, up 3:29 since Q1 2013.
Teens
• While teens (ppl 13-17) use their TV screens proportionately more than the population as a whole for other uses, they still spend the majority of their time with the TV screen watching live and playback TV.
• 16-17 year-olds report the most amount of time watching video on mobile phones, at 8:48 per month (Q4 2013).
• People 16-17 (along with 25-34s) have the greatest tendency of all online Australians to multi-task: 89 per cent of online 16-17 year-olds report ever doing so (74 per cent across the total online population); 82 per cent of teens claim to multi-task at least monthly.
• Social media is the online activity 16-17s most often use tablets for, followed by email. They use laptop and desktop computers primarily for search and email.
• Watching online video is 16-17 year-olds’ fourth most common activity on computers, sixth on tablets and tenth on smartphones.
18-24s
• 18-24s spend the most time in aggregate of any age group watching TV and other video on connected devices – 24:07 per month across PC/laptops, plus their claimed viewing on tablets and mobiles, compared to 45:14 watching TV on conventional sets.
• Although 18-24s are among the lightest TV viewers they spent 44 minutes more per month watching TV in Q1 2014 than they did a year earlier.
• While live TV drives 18-24s’ evening viewing, they spend nearly equal amounts of time watching live TV and using the TV screen for other purposes in the afternoons on both weekdays and weekends.
• 87 per cent of online 18-24s say they ever multi-task, just behind teens and 25-34s.
• Getting directions/maps and email are 18-24s’ most common online activities on mobile phones; they use tablets and computers most often for search and email.
• Watching online video is 18-24s’ fifth most common activity on computers, fourth on tablets and eleventh on smartphones.
25-34s
• 25-34s (like most age groups) increased their playback viewing year-on-year, watching an average 6:56 per month in the quarter (+50 minutes each month).
• As an age group 25-34 year-olds are the second-heaviest viewers of video on a PC/laptop, spending 10:05 per month doing so in Q1 2014.
• Online Australians aged 25-34 (along with teens) are the age group most likely to multi-task: 89 per cent report ever doing so (74 per cent across online Australians 16+.)
• 25-34s use their laptops most often for multi-tasking, followed by mobile phones, desktops and then tablets.
• 25-34s’ top online activities are search and email (on computers), search, email and getting news (tablets), and checking weather, directions and email (mobile phones).
• 25-34s say watching online video is their fourth most common activity on tablets, eighth most popular activity on desktop/laptops, and eleventh on their smartphones.
35-49s
• 35-49s increased their broadcast TV viewing by 57 minutes year-on-year to 98:06 per month in Q1 2014.
• 81 per cent of online 35-49 year-olds say they ever multi-task, with 73 per cent claiming to do so at least once a month.
• 35-49s use their laptops most often to multi-task, desktops second, and mobile phones and tablets third.
• The top online activities among 35-49s are email and search (tablets and computers), and checking weather and directions (mobile phones).
• Watching online video is 35-49s’ seventh most-common self-reported activity on tablets, though video viewing falls outside their top ten on desktop/laptops and smartphones.
50-64s
• 50-64s watched an average 124:37 per month of broadcast television in Q1 2014, including an additional 30 minutes each month of playback (now 9:40/month).
• People 50-64 spent 5:20 per month viewing video on a PC/laptop in the quarter.
• 50-64s report spending 51 minutes and 25 minutes per month viewing video on tablets and mobile phones, respectively.
• 68 per cent of online Australians aged 50-64 say they ever multi-task; 58 per cent claim to do so at least once a month.
• 50-64s use laptops most often to multi-task, followed by desktop computers, tablets and then mobile phones.
• 50-64s’ most common online activities are email and search (tablets and computers), and checking weather and directions (mobile phones).
• Online video viewing is their tenth most common self-reported activity on tablets, and twelfth on computers and smartphones.
People 65+
• People over 65 are the heaviest TV viewers, spending 150:36 each month watching broadcast TV in Q1 2014 (+11 minutes year-on-year).
• People 65+ increased their playback viewing year-on-year more than other age groups (+1:47 per month to 9:51 each month in the quarter).
• While over-65s are the least likely of all age groups to use their TV sets for purposes other than watching broadcast television, their other screen usage is most pronounced in the afternoons and evening peak.
• Over-65s are less likely than other age groups to multi-task: 48 per cent claim to ever do so (vs 74 per cent of all Australians 16+.) 52 per cent of people 65+ say they do not watch TV and access the internet at the same time.
• When they do multi-task, people 65+ use laptops most often, just ahead of desktops and well ahead of tablets, with mobile phones their least commonly used device to multi-task.
• Over-65s’ principal online activities are email and search (laptops and tablets) and checking weather and directions/maps (smart phones).
• Viewing online video is outside over-65s’ top-ten most common online activities on connected devices: twelfth on computers, thirteenth on smartphones and eleventh on tablets.