This post is the first in what you might call a rejuvenation of this blog. Up to this point, Scott’s Best has been a place for me to showcase my work as a Creative Communications student. While it will still continue to serve that purpose, Scott’s Best will now be a place for you and I to discuss media news and issues, as well as other events in the news. I hope to offer my perspective as a media industry observer and as someone who is entering that field.
As luck would have it, I came across the perfect topic to begin this rejuvenation with.
In a report released this past week, The CRTC says we (Canadians) spent more time watching TV or listening to radio in 2011 than the previous year, despite our frequent use of digital media.
The commission says on a weekly basis, we watched an average of 28.5 hours of television, up from 28 hours in 2010, and we listened to an average of 17.7 hours of radio, up from 17.6 hours the previous year.
That is interesting news. As a traditional media junky and communications student, I often hear how radio and TV as we’ve come to know them over the last 50 years are dead. Broadcasters say they’re losing listeners, viewers, and money because of “new media”; they try to cut costs wherever they can, which often means eliminating or reducing local programming, if they have any in the first place.
These cuts sometimes result in lower ratings, but more often, just discontented listeners and viewers.
Having said all of that, it appears as if we’re not ready to abandon traditional media just yet and it still seems to be somewhat profitable.
Yes, most radio stations stream their signals online or provide access via mobile devices and a large number of TV programs are available online, but not enough consumers are able to listen and watch their favourite programs through digital platforms while they travel, perhaps because mobile technology hasn’t been around long enough for mass media consumers to take full advantage of it. But … that will come.
There is still popular audio and video content that is not available on a mobile device. So maybe we’re still enjoying our familiar old radios and televisions, but also texting or surfing the net on our smartphones at the same time.
As for the money, the CRTC says broadcast revenues climbed 5.5 per cent to $16.6 billion last year from 2010, but revenues from telecommunications services also increased by 2.5 per cent to $42.7 billion.
Perhaps broadcasters aren’t hurting financially as much as they say … yet. However, the commission also points out that 78 per cent of Canadian households had Internet service in 2011, and the number of subscribers of wireless services grew by six per cent, with newer competitors doubling their market share to four per cent.
Perhaps broadcasters aren’t hurting financially as much as they say … yet. However, the commission also points out that 78 per cent of Canadian households had Internet service in 2011, and the number of subscribers of wireless services grew by six per cent, with newer competitors doubling their market share to four per cent.
As part of their 2012 technology predictions, Deloitte said that five per cent of full-screen smartphone owners and one in ten tablet owners would use their devices at least once a month to catch up on TV viewing while commuting. Globally, they say this could represent an additional five billion hours of TV viewing for the year. Deloitte also tells us that five billion tablets could be in consumers’ hands by the end of the year.
They point out that catch-up commuters will represent a golden opportunity for content producers and advertisers.
So what can we take away from all these numbers and predictions? I’d say we still love to curl up on the couch and watch TV or listen to our favourite morning radio show in the car.
But as the song says “change is gonna come.” It won’t be long before both of those things will be done through digital platforms. As media professionals, we don’t have to go into crisis mode, but we do have to think about the content we provide for our audiences and how it’s delivered. We don’t have to abandon traditional platforms, but we can’t ignore digital ones. If we do, we’ll be left in the dust.
Sources:
http://insights.deloitte.ca/predictions/?utm_campaign=green%20dot%202012%20tmt&utm_term=deloitte&utm_medium=friendly%20url&utm_source=%2Fpredictions
Interesting post, Scott. The winners in this whole change will be the content providers who remember that people like convenience and simplicity -- and need both more and more, as life gets increasingly noisy.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to guess, I'd say we may be listening to more radio and watching more TV because both give us a break from the online deluge.