Member Article

Latest research uncovers future of media consumption

Research released today has highlighted the drastically changing way UK adults use the media and how digital technology has utterly transformed their viewing, reading and listening habits.

The study, called ‘Audiences Unbound’, was carried out by research company Trinity McQueen and questioned 1,000 UK adults. It found that when it comes to TV, 82% of Brits have seen scheduled TV shows in the past week, but only 57% prefer to watch them that way. Instead (89%) have watched TV on demand at least once, 78% in the past month, and approaching half (41%) subscribe to an on-demand service such as Netflix, Now TV or Amazon Prime.

The report analyses the growing audience moving away from traditional content consumption and towards new digital and on-demand platforms. In fact, over a quarter (29%) say they’d be happy to never watch scheduled TV ever again and 33% say that watching shows only at the scheduled time simply doesn’t fit with their lifestyle.

Seven out of ten of us (70%) have now read a magazine article online or via an app, 51% of us in the past month, and even more (79%) have read a newspaper article that way, 68% in the past month. In fact, over a third (36%) now prefer to get their newspapers in ways other than the print copy. Meanwhile, six out of ten (59%) have read an e-book.

In addition, almost two-thirds (63%) have watched a video blog or other piece of user-generated online content – surprisingly even 37% of those aged 55+ – while 74% have listened to music they downloaded from the internet and 62% have streamed music online or via their mobile device.

Chris Handford, director at Trinity McQueen, comments: “We just don’t approach the media the same way anymore. Digital technology has opened up an entire world of TV shows, films, songs and articles that are instantly available whenever we want them - how can traditional media channels compete?

“What’s more, it’s become what we all expect. Anyone that produces content, whether it’s a daily newspaper, a Hollywood movie studio or someone in their bedroom doing a video blog, has to be able to deliver it quickly and across all devices to feed that insatiable hunger for content.”

The study went on to reveal that almost half of Brits (44%) are inspired to read, watch and listen to new content after seeing posts on social media and that more than a third of us (38%) habitually ‘dual-screen’ by using phones while also watching TV.

Furthermore, it highlighted the continuing struggle for online advertisers to get their messages across in a more personalised and targeted way: more than half of consumers (56%) now use ad-blocking software on their laptops/PCs but around half (46%) say they don’t mind online advertising but only as long as it’s relevant to them.

Finally, there is also some evidence of a backlash against filter bubbles and articles that are delivered to our social media feeds by faceless algorithms. It found that Brits were, instead, more likely to prefer content recommendations that have been curated by experts and journalists.

Chris Handford continues: “The habits of these ‘unbound audiences’ are re-shaping the future of media consumption, in everything from news to movies. These consumers are embracing the bright future of boundless media consumption, and traditional outlets need to do a much better job of reflecting this trend if they are to ensure their survival.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Alex Sampson .