Australia’s Multi Screen report for Q1, 2012 shows television viewing strong, as new devices and technologies create new opportunities to view.

·   Estimated 15% of Australian homes now have tablets

·   Video viewing via PCs and mobile devices rises rapidly from small base

·   Largest available screen dominates: 96% of all video still viewed on conventional TV set

·   Australians spend approx 100 hours/month with traditional TV: up 1.2% year-on-year

 

An estimated 15% of Australian households now own at least one tablet device, according to the latest Australian Multi-Screen Report covering the first quarter of calendar 2012.

 

New technologies are creating additional opportunities to view, keeping consumers engaged with broadcast television and enabling them to watch when and where they like.

 

The report also reinforces findings from the previous edition (Q4 2011): viewing via conventional TV sets remains strong and is rising due to the increasing use of Personal Video Recorders (PVRs), now in 47% of homes, coupled with digital terrestrial television (DTT) penetration approaching 100%.

 

More digital televisions sets in Australian homes mean more available channels per home, resulting in higher viewing levels. 96% of homes can receive DTT and 74% have converted every set in the home to digital, up from 55% a year ago.

 

Key findings as of Q1 (January-March) 2012

 

·         An estimated 15% of Australian households now own at least one tablet device

 

·         Viewing of any video (both television broadcast content and other available video) on PCs, smartphones and tablets is growing rapidly, albeit from a small base

 

·         Viewers overwhelmingly watch on the largest screen available to them: 96% of all video viewing still is via the conventional TV set[1]

 

·         Viewing on conventional TVs is strong with time spent rising 1.2% year-on-year

 

Doug Peiffer, CEO, OzTAM, said: "The use of new devices will continue to grow – as seen in the estimated 15% of Australian households that already have a tablet device. PCs and mobile devices are creating additional opportunities to view, in the process keeping consumers close to the content.

 

"Amid the excitement about such technologies though, Australians' TV habits remain largely unchanged. People still enjoy nearly 100 hours of television on the conventional set every month, and 96% of viewing is still to the traditional in-home TV.

 

"The quarterly insights provided by the Australian Multi-Screen Report provide a better understanding of how much viewing is actually going to various devices – drawing on the best available measurement sources in Nielsen, OzTAM and Regional TAM – to assist the industry in planning and forecasting."

 

Matt Bruce, MD of Nielsen’s media group in Australia, added: “The Australian Multi-Screen Report again highlights that Australians' fast adoption of smart phones and tablets is in fact broadening the viewing opportunities of TV across multiple platforms.

 

"Our Nielsen Online Consumer Report 2012 forecasts that growth of tablet use among online Australians will more than double this year to 39%, while smart phone ownership is expected to reach 64%. The rapid rise of these devices and new technologies is further extending Australians’ TV viewing opportunities, and our Multi-Screen report is providing media owners, agencies and advertisers with clarity and actionable insights into the way multiple screens are reaching and engaging with consumers”

 

Deborah Wright, the Chair of Regional TAM, said: “The information gathered to produce this report also highlights that multi-screen viewing is consistent right across regional and metropolitan Australia with no material variations in any key findings.”

 

 

Detailed findings

 

1.   Take-up of tablets is increasing

 

·         An estimated 15% of Australian households have at least one tablet device

 

·          Watching any video content on tablets grew from just 2% of the total online population at the end of 2010 to 5% by the end of 2011 (Source; Nielsen 2012 Australian Online Consumer report)

 

 

2.   TV viewing is strong

 

·         Households have greater choice and access to DTT:

o   96% of all homes have at least one DTT-enabled TV set (up from 90% in Q1 2011)

o   74% of homes can receive DTT on every working TV set in the home (55% in Q1 2011)

·         47% of households have time-shifting devices such as PVRs (up from 37% in Q1 2011)

·         Combined, these factors give viewers greater choice and access to television content and are stimulating viewing via the conventional TV set:

o   Average monthly time spent viewing television broadcast content in the home via conventional TV sets is up by 1 hour and 12 minutes year-on-year, now at 97 minutes and 15 seconds. (All People figures; TV viewing behaviour of course fluctuates seasonally, with viewing increasing in winter time)

o   Average monthly time spent viewing playback (recorded) TV content is up by 1 hour and 36 minutes since Q1 2011, now at 6 hours 33 minutes per month

·         Approximately 99% of Australian households have at least one working TV set. Overall TV monthly reach (that is, where people watch at least some television during the period) is steady year-on-year at 98% of Australians nationally

 

3.   Video viewing on PCs is rising but remains small in comparison to conventional TV

 

·         78% of households are connected to the Internet (77% in Q1 2011), providing potential access to online television video content

·         Australians spent an average of 3 hours and 15 minutes per month watching any online video (not just television broadcast related content) in Q1 2012, up from 2 hours and 7 minutes in Q1 2011

 

4.   Smartphone take-up is increasing but video viewing on such devices remains small

 

·         An estimated 48% of Australians aged 16+ years own a smartphone (35% in Q1 2011)

 

·         As of Q4 2011 (the latest figures available), users spent an average 1 hour and 20 minutes per month watching any video (not just television broadcast content) on a mobile phone (35 minutes in Q1 2011), suggesting use of such devices to view TV content remains small

 

5.   There is a strong and positive relationship between screen size and propensity to view, with people demonstrating a preference to watch content on the largest screen available:

 

·         96% of all video viewing still goes to the traditional TV set

 

·         The combination of the extended screens (PC and mobile phone usage) for any video content still accounts for just 4% of the video consumption on traditional TV sets:

o    3 hours 15 minutes per month on PCs (All People)

o    1 hour 20 minutes per month on mobiles (people aged 16+; Q4 2011)

o    97 hours 15 minutes per month on a traditional TV (All People)

 

-ends-

 

Sources: OzTAM, Regional TAM, Nielsen

 

Further detail is provided in the report, available upon request. Please contact:

 

Margaret Fearn                                    Warren Gillmer

Fearnace Media                                  Nielsen

M: 0402 259 064                                 T: (02) 8873 7615

margaret@fearnacemedia.com      warren.gillmer@nielsen.com

 

About The Australian Multi-Screen Report

The Australian Multi-Screen Report, released quarterly, is the first and only national research into trends in video viewing in Australian homes across television, computers and mobile devices. It combines data from the three best available research sources: the OzTAM and Regional TAM television ratings panels and Nielsen’s national NetView panel and Consumer & Media View database.

 

About Nielsen

Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related properties. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, please visit www.nielsen.com

 

About OzTAM
OzTAM is Australia’s official source of television audience measurement (TAM) covering the five metropolitan markets (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth) and nationally for subscription television. OzTAM ratings are the accepted metric by which Australian television is evaluated. The media industry uses OzTAM data to assist in program development, advertising planning and to gauge the performance of television programs, networks and advertising campaigns. More at: www.oztam.com.au

 

About Regional TAM

Regional TAM Pty Limited is a joint venture comprising the five free-to-air (FTA) regional commercial networks – NBN Limited, Prime Television Pty Ltd, Seven Queensland, Southern Cross Austereo, and WIN Corporation Pty Ltd. Collected and marketed by Nielsen Television Audience Measurement, Regional TAM data is the official television audience measurement (TAM) of FTA and Subscription Television viewing in the five east coast aggregated regional markets, including its 19 component sub-markets, and the Regional Western Australian market.  Regional TAM television ratings information is designed to be an independent, reliable and transparent audience measurement system that provides the currency by which television is bought, sold and evaluated. The audience data is used by a range of parties such as television networks, advertisers, media buyers and programme suppliers to aid them to understand viewer behaviour, and in assessing programme or network performance. More at http://www.regionaltam.com.au

[1] Viewing via the conventional TV includes broadcast content only; video viewing on second and third screens can include both broadcast and non-broadcast video content.