It may sound surprising, but there is this black box thingy in everyone’s home that displays moving images. It’s sort of like a computer but it’s a one-way street – output only.
You can’t like stuff with it, and there’s nowhere to put a comment. It’s still cool, though, because lots of the latest episodic programmes come through it. It’s called a TV.
An endangered species
What’s more, while this device is increasingly becoming a novelty in most of our homes, the TV is still a major player in the average living room. According to Roy Morgan Research, there are plenty of Aussies still using offline media like the good ole TV.
Going by the data, the internet is steadily overtaking older formats like TV, print, and the movie theatre. The number of Australians who spend more than 15 hours per week has risen to 39-per cent of the population.
By comparison, 22-per cent of that population watches three or more hours of television per day. Older Aussie internet users are more likely to watch regular, commercial television, according to the survey. That’s not too surprising – the 50 – 64 year old sect grew up in the age of the small screen.
What might be more surprising is that the 14-24 year old demographic are (of course) heavy internet users who also have a strong appreciation for the movie theatre. Additionally, 70-per cent of all Aussie heavy internet users still read things written on paper (you remember, that byproduct of trees that’s kind of like toilet tissue but bigger and you can print on it).
Expert advice
Alongside the report, George Pesutto, Industry Director of Media, Roy Morgan Research, says, “It’s interesting to see that, even among people who spend significant amounts of time online, there is still a large appetite for other types of media.”
“This goes against the popular assumption that the internet is superseding traditional media. Even as new technologies (for example, laptops and smartphones) present ever more opportunities to go online, Australians continue to consume print media, free-to-air commercial TV and radio. The situation is similar in New Zealand, where a higher percentage of heavy internet users watch TV than their Aussie counterparts.”
“Rather than putting all their eggs in the online basket, smart companies are taking a multi-platform approach with their marketing communications to ensure they achieve the widest possible reach.”
Infinite diversity, in infinite combinations
So, what we have is the continual need to engage consumers across legacy media platforms. It’s undoubted that online technologies will eventually near-totally replace older platforms (especially the apparently ill-fated printed newspaper). But, for the foreseeable future, according to the numbers at least, it would seem that we exist in a multi-screen/multimedia reality that speaks to the diverse information intake needs of offline Aussies young and old.
Live long and prosper – online and offline.
