Bingers, streamers and digital addicts - meet the new Australian media consumer

Internet use is set to outstrip television viewing as Australia’s entertainment source of choice, binge viewing is on the rise and baby boomers are driving tablet usage, according to the latest Deloitte Media Consumer Survey.

While television retains the top spot with 64% of respondents ranking it in their top three entertainment preferences, going online for social or personal reasons is nipping at television screens at 63%.  The internet has gained in viewing share over the last three years with steady 10% year on year growth and Deloitte forecast that of this is maintained, the internet will take the primary position this year as Australian’s number one source of entertainment .

Among certain age groups, the digital tipping point has already happened, with the use of the internet now the preferred entertainment activity for Millennials. This group also tend to view their favourite TV shows through video-sharing sites such as YouTube (more than 20% of their viewing time), in addition to online peer-to-peer networks such as BitTorrent or RapidShare.

Australian’s have taken to binge viewing with gusto, with 72% of those surveyed watching back-to-back episodes (three or more) in one session and over a quarter(26%) are doing so once a week. Deloitte suggest that the challenge is now on for broadcasters to build delivery platforms and revenue models that support the consumer’s love of binging as well as producing or acquiring these highly attractive binge-worthy programs.

Just under a quarter (24%) of binge viewers will choose to stream their content, 21% will make a digital rental, while 25% who will rent the physical product.

IPTV consumption has swiftly swelled with 42% of viewers now connecting their television sets to the internet to receive media and content, up from 37% last year. Millenials and Gen Xers are driving IPTV connections (42%). Tablet owners are also the key to streaming content uptake as those with tablets are almost twice as likely as non-tablet owners to stream movies.

The report notes that we are at a tipping point when it comes to multi-platform consumption with 53% of Australian survey respondents now ‘digital omnivores’, defined as owners of a tablet, laptop and smartphone. This is up by 28% last year and largely driven by increased tablet ownership which now stands at 63% amongst survey respondents.

Bucking the trend that tablet uptake is driven by the digital natives’ generation, in Australia the Baby Boomers are taking tablets in hand with the most significant growth coming from the Boomer and senior set.  The report found that tablets consumption varies widely according to age with Boomers and older,  tending to use their tablets for communications, the news and e-books, as well as for online banking and taking photos. While Millennials and Xers are more likely to use their tablets to watch television shows and listen to music.