Internet use threatens to overtake TV in Canada

I'd guess this is roughly the same for Americans too.

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CTV.ca News Staff

The gap between Internet and TV usage is closing, with the Internet threatening to overtake television, a new poll suggests.

The survey, conducted by Ipsos Reid, shows that the amount of time Internet-using Canadians are spending actively using the Web is up 46 per cent since 2002 and now averages 12.7 hours per week. That's up from 8.7 hours per week three years ago.

The study found that this increase appears to have come at the expense of radio. Results show that the typical Internet-using adult in Canada spends 11 hours per week listening to the radio. That's down from 16 hours per week in 2002.

The study warns that although television is still the No. 1 media source for Internet-using Canadians, the gap is closing and if the trend continues, the Internet could soon overtake television.

According to the study, younger Internet-using Canadians are particularly enthusiastic users of the Internet, surfing on average 14.7 hours per week.

This compares to 11.7 hours listening to the radio and 11.6 hours watching television. The 18-34 age group spends just 2.5 hours per week reading newspapers.

Catherine Rogers, senior research manager with Ipsos Reid's Media Practice, said the changing media consumption trends had "significant implications for advertisers and marketers."

"For the first time since we began tracking these activities, younger Canadians are spending more time on the Internet than watching TV," said Rogers.

"Any advertiser looking at this demographic should be re-evaluating their marketing strategies if they haven't already."

While Internet use is on the rise, Ipsos Reid says Internet-using Canadians turn to different sources depending on their news and information needs.

The Internet is used more to look for specific news and information such as health (48 per cent) and travel information (45 per cent), whereas television tends to be used more for general news and information such as weather (70 per cent) and national and international news (70 per cent).

On average, Canadians spend 3.5 hours per week reading newspapers (unchanged from 2002) and 1.6 hours reading magazines (down from 1.7 in 2002).

Internet-using Canadians report using a variety of websites to search for news and information with no one website emerging as the leader.

Over a quarter of Internet-using Canadians (27 per cent) say they don't have a favourite, leaving the door wide-open for a national news and information website to capture their attention.

"Traditional sources for news and information are facing stiff competition from the Internet as seen by the high growth of Internet use compared to other traditional media," says Rogers.

"In order to combat this growing threat, traditional media sources must continue to find innovative ways to use the Internet as a complement to their total offering."

The Ipsos Reid survey is the largest, most comprehensive study about quarterly Internet trends in Canada.

The results are based on random online and telephone surveys.