News Consumption Still Highest on TV, Where Audiences Go For Breaking News

March 28, 2013

This article is included in these additional categories:

Mobile Phone | Television

BBC-News-Consumption-Time-by-Device-Mar2013A BBC survey of more than 3,600 wealthy digital device owners in Australia, Singapore, India, UAE, South Africa, Poland, Germany, France, and the US – billing itself as the “largest global study to date on the consumption of news in the digital age” – reveals that TV is still the primary device for news consumption, at 42% of respondents’ time, compared to 29% for laptops, 18% for smartphones, and 10% for tablets. The study finds that rather than cannibalize TV viewing, the rise of tablets and smartphones actually results in greater overall news consumption.

Indeed, 43% of tablet owners say they watch more TV news than they did 5 years ago. News consumption has increased alongside rising device penetration largely because the platforms complement each other rather than compete, allowing consumers to use different devices at different points during the day. So, while smartphones and laptops are used heavily during the day for news consumption, TV’s usage has a big spike from 5PM onwards.

The study also determines that users most often turn to TV as their primary and first device during breaking news situations, with two-thirds then moving to the internet to seek more information about the stories.

Looking at advertising, news audiences are about as likely to expect to see advertising on mobile (79% tablet/84% smartphone) as on TV (87%) and online (84%). 1 in 5 TV users (and 1 in 4 desktop users) reported responding to an ad in the previous 4 weeks, with mobile users (1 in 7) slightly less responsive.

About the Data: Survey participants were top income earners and owners of at least three devices amongst television, tablet, smartphone and laptop/desktop. The survey was conducted by InSites Consulting for BBC World News and bbc.com/news.

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