Broadcast TV Viewing Remains Strong in Australia

The Q1 2017 Australian Video Viewing Report finds that television remains by far the most-watched screen in Australia, though it is seeing an accelerating decline.

The report—which includes figures from Regional TAM, OzTAM and Nielsen—reveals that 19.9 million Australians (83.7 percent of the population in people-metered markets) watch some broadcast TV (free-to-air and subscription channels) on in-home TV sets each week. In Q1 2017, Australians watched an average of 79 hours and 30 minutes (79:30) of broadcast TV on in-home TV sets per person each month—this is down from 85:20 reported in the same quarter a year ago. Within this, 89.1 percent (70:52) was watched live-to-air, 8.9 percent (7:04) was played back within 7 days, and 1.9 percent (1:33) was time-shifted between 8 and 28 days of the original broadcast.

Total TV screen use in the first quarter was 111:03, compared with 117:30 in Q1 2016.

In Q1 2017, Australians spent 28 percent of their time with their TV sets across the day doing something other than watching live or playing back broadcast TV within 28 days. In prime time, the proportion of this other TV screen use was 25 percent.