In digital age, TV still king

As everything and everyone goes digital and embraces Industry 4.0—or the fourth industrial revolution— have traditional media finally met their demise?

Here in the Philippines, not exactly, according to data gathered by global media intelligence firm Kantar Media through its Media Habits Survey.

The survey found that while Filipinos “are increasingly embracing the digital wave, as internet coverage improves and mobile access becomes more affordable,” TV is still king in most households, radio patronage is still “stable,” and newspapers are still viewed as a credible source of information.

The extensive survey was conducted in 2016 in both rural and urban Philippines, with a respondent base of 10,000 individuals. It revealed that since 2014, daily TV viewership has risen from around 91 percent to almost 97 percent of the total population, with most people watching during primetime from 8 to 10 p.m.

When it comes to radio, Kantar Media’s survey found that “listening figures remained stable in 2016 with an average of three out of 10 consumers tuning in on a daily basis.” Most tuned in between the hours of 5 and 10 a.m., when daily morning newscasts are usually aired.

As for print, which has been described as a “dying” medium, the survey found that readership levels have increased across the whole country in the last two years, from 45 to 48 percent, when respondents were asked if they had read any newspaper in the past year.

However, when people were asked about their daily newspaper-reading habit, the survey reflected a “significant decline” in readership levels, said Jay Bautista, Kantar Media Philippines commercial director for audience intelligence.

“Press advertising only gets two percent share of the advertising expenditures compared with TV and radio in the last two years,” added Bautista. “The bright side is that… we know that the digital assets of the publications are among the top visited sites in the Philippines. So while the printed copy readership is declining, online access is increasing. A silver lining, so to speak.”

There is no denying, however, that although traditional media still rule in the Philippines, internet usage is on the rise, especially in a country dubbed the “Facebook capital of the world.” In the last two years, people accessing the internet increased from 40 to 43 percent nationwide, the survey revealed, with Metro Manila having the most individuals online at 70.6 percent, up from 67 percent in 2014. According to the survey, 80 percent of the respondents said they logged on at home, with around the same number using the internet for social networking, followed by chatting and e-mail.

Bautista, however, noted one of the survey’s key takeaways: that digital still needs the traditional to survive.

“Although there is an increase in digital media consumption, traditional media platforms remain the credible source of information,” he said. “The fact remains that traditional media like TV, radio and print feed valuable information to digital media.”