Internet Winning; Radio, TV Losing
Not that this should surprise anyone but a new Ipsos Reid study suggests Canadians are spending more time on the Internet and less time listening to the radio. According to the research firm, Canadians surf an average of 12.7 hours a week, a 46% rise from 2002, while the time devoted to the radio has dropped to 11 hours from 16 hours. While TV still rules the roost at 14.3 hours a week, the gap between the boob-tube and the Internet has shrunk to 1.6 hours, compared with 4.3 hours three years ago. For advertisers, all this data means they should seriously explore moving some budget to the Web from traditional froms of media, particularly if they want to court younger consumers. As to why Internet usage is growing in Canada, it could be the high penetration rates of high-speed Internet access. Many people may also be turning to the the Web for streaming audio rather than listening to the ultra-programmed world of traditional radio. As for TV, who knows. Maybe's it's the whole reality-TV craze or the fact it's easier to eat a bag of chips or down a carton of ice cream while lounging on the couch.
