TV bingeing on the rise, but consumers increasingly drinking from the internet stream

By (incomplete) | 31 July 2014
 

The age of television's dominance in the lives of Australians as the first choice for entertainment is poised to come to an end with Deloitte predicting the internet will usurp TV within the next six months.

But when Aussies do tune in they binge, carving their way through three or more episodes of their favourite shows rather than waiting for old fashioned appointment viewing.

The seismic shift in consumer behaviour is the key finding of the 2014 Deloitte Media Consumer Survey that has charted the evolving behaviours of consumer media consumption.

The report said streaming and internet connected devices, from smartphones to the lounge room TV, was helping to accelerate the trend of sourcing content online.

“Using the Internet is likely to eclipse watching TV as the preferred source of entertainment in the coming year,” the report said.

“While TV is still number one, with 64% of survey respondents ranking it in their top three entertainment preferences, using the Internet for social or personal reasons is a close second to TV (63%), and has climbed the ranks for the past three years (10% year on year growth).

“If this rate of growth is maintained, the Internet will overtake TV as the preferred source of entertainment this year.”

The rise of binge viewing – and the increasing preference of hiring movies through streaming services rather than through high street video stores, was another development.

“Some 72% of survey participants watch back-to-back episodes (three or more) in one sitting and more than a quarter of us (26%) are doing this once a week,” it said.

“We’re engaged and invested in these shows, but want to watch them on our terms. These shows don’t need to be on the TV for us to binge and non-broadcasters are just as likely to be developing binge-worthy content.”

But while there appeared to be grim news for legacy media players, with 92% of people saying they would not pay for news online as there was enough free content to meet their needs, there was a bright light on the horizon for magazines.

“The printed magazine is still holding its own and remains the preferred way to read magazine content (49% of all survey respondents),” it said.

“Nearly half (49%) of magazine subscribers indicated that if the price of their favourite magazine was the same for various options of physical or digital copies, they would prefer to receive the physical copy only, rather than both.”

The report also noted the importance of social media.

More than half of people update of check social media daily with 54% saying they checked their status, up by 170% on last year.

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