Global consumer media usage is expected to fall 0.3% in 2025, the first decline since the 2009 Great Recession, according to PQ Media Forecast 2025- 2029.
This shows that media consumption has reached its saturation point as digital device penetration rates having peaked in major developed markets.
Growth, including all digital and traditional media channels, increased 2.4% in 2024 to an average of 57.2 hours per week (HPW), following a sharp deceleration in time spent with media growth in 2023.
This was driven by elections in 15 of the top 20 markets, as well as the Summer Olympics in France, according to research released today by PQ Media, the world's leading provider of media econometrics.
Meanwhile, declines are expected each odd year during the forecast period, when there are fewer federal elections and international sporting events, which tend to be limited to sports that are played in fewer countries or don’t generate high TV ratings, such as the ICC World Cup.
PQ Media CEO Patrick Quinn said also contributing to the media consumption decline in 2025 is expected deceleration in discretionary spending on media devices and content.
"As consumers worldwide tighten their overall budgets due to an expected rise in inflation and possible recession due to the tariff wars instigated by the new Trump administration in the United States,” Quinn said.
“However, the decline will be short lived, as gains are expected in 2026, when more than a dozen major countries hold federal elections, the Winter Olympics are held in Italy and the FIFA World Cup is tri-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.”
Another trend which continued in 2024 is the shift from traditional media to digital media, with digital rising to 39.7% share globally, up from 37.3% in 2023 and 28.6% in 2019.
A new datapoint being tracked by PQ Media is an additional generation not found in previous editions, the ai-Gen, individuals born between 2025-2039, the first generation to live its entire life with artificial intelligence (AI).
"Compared with previous generations, the ai-Gens will be introduced to digital media at an earlier age, as broadband, smartphone, and tablet penetration rates have emerged as the highest ever in 2025, with children knowing how to use smartphones and tablets almost from the time they can walk,” Quinn said.
“With streaming services replacing broadcast & cable TV, over-the-air radio, DVDs and CDs, and mobile games and podcasts increasingly being developed that are targeted towards young children, the use of traditional media platforms and channels will continue to decline at a more rapid rate each year."
Among other key findings from the report:
- The average global consumer spent 8.17 hours per day with media in 2024, up from 7.36 hours in 2019 (in some markets, like Japan and the Netherlands, daily media usage exceeded 12 hours per day);
- Ad-supported media accounted for 52.7% of time spent in 2024, down from a 55.5% share in 2019, while in 11 markets, including the United States, consumer-driven media usage exceeds 50%, led by Spain and Japan at 57.9%;
- From a demographic perspective, men used media more than women globally, 58.29 hours per week (HPW) vs. 57.02, respectively. The Greatest Generation (born before 1945) used media the most (98.37 HPW), while the m-Gen used media the least (31.73 HPW) in 2024;
- Television (including live, digital, streaming and over-the-top (OTT) video) remains the most used of the 11 media platforms that PQ Media tracks, reaching 28.07 hours per week in 2024, while film & home video posted the fastest growth, up 10.4%, fueled by more movies being released on streaming services and high number of blockbusters in movie theaters;
- Mobile video posted the highest gain of the 22 digital channels that PQ Media monitors, up 16.7% in 2024, while OTT video (streaming, video-on-demand (VOD), pay-per-view (PPV), and digital-video-recorder (DVR) viewing) is the most used digital channel at 8.77 hours per week.
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