Traditional TV viewing on the decline

Overall media consumption will increase around the world this year, but the average time spent watching TV via a traditional set will continue to decline, according to new research.

Traditional TV viewing is still the major form of media consumption, but internet consumption in second is gaining ground, data from media agency ZenithOptimedia shows.

Last year there was a drop in the average time spent watching TV, with the average coming in at 183.9 minutes.

Between 2010 and 2014 TV’s share of overall consumption fell from 42.4% to 37.9%. It will shrink further to 34.7% by 2017, according to Zenith’s projections.

The numbers do not account for the time people spent watching TV series and video online, thereby stripping out the effects of people watching catch-up and SVOD services.

Overall media consumption is highest in Latin America, where people spent an average of 744 minutes daily consuming media in 2014, and lowest in Asia Pacific, where consumption averaged just 301 minutes that year.

“The average person already spends half their waking life consuming media,” said Jonathan Barnard, ZenithOptimedia’s Head of Forecasting. “We expect media consumption to continue to grow for the foreseeable future, multiplying the opportunities for brands to develop relationships with consumers.”

Overall, the study said that people will spend an average of 492 minutes a day consuming media in 2015, up 1.4% from 485 minutes a day in 2014.

This increase will be driven by the rapid growth in internet use, which will increase by 11.8%, according to ZenithOptimedia.