Deloitte has released the ninth annual Media Consumer Survey 2020, with this year’s analysis focusing on consumer behaviours specific to the COVID-19 isolation restrictions in Australia between March and May 2020.
The Media Consumer Survey 2020 research focuses on the behavioural shifts in media consumption as Australians settled into their homes, with this year’s survey questions adjusted to the COVID-19 context. Over 2,000 Australian media consumers were surveyed across a range of age groups.
This has meant that the analysis focuses on changing consumption patterns around television, video streaming services, and digital entertainment. No analysis on print media (magazines or newspapers) has been included in this year’s report, despite it being a staple in previous reports.
We’ve picked out the report’s few points of interest to print and online media businesses with niche audiences.
News consumption increased across all age groups
Over the March to May 2020 period, news consumption increased across all demographics.
“As the events of 2020 unfolded, many of us found ourselves bingeing on unexpected content. From bushfires to a global pandemic, news became part of Australian’s daily routine and this was reflected in an overall increase in the consumption of all news sources,” the report found.
The top daily news sources during lockdown:
- 66 per cent used TV
- 42 per cent used online news websites (not including online newspapers, for which statistics aren’t included)
- 38 per cent used Facebook.
40 per cent of respondents said that their use of online websites for news (not including online newspapers) increased over the lockdown period, while 32 per cent said that they used Facebook more.
Podcast engagement increased
Podcast listening also increased during the COVID-19 lockdown period, with many consumers intending to continue to listen to podcasts into the future.
Trailing millennials (those aged between 14-30 years) intend to listen to the most hours per week (1.4 hours), followed by leading millennials (aged 31-36 years) at 0.9 hours per week, and Gen Xers (aged 37-53 years) at 0.8 hours per week.
The full Media Consumer Survey 2020 report can be accessed here.
