Consumer Media Time Decreased after Record 2023

EMARKETER, Publicis Media, and GWI released their Global Media Intelligence Report 2024, a robust annual guide detailing media and device usage in 49 markets. Each of the seven regions’ media habits and behaviors is analyzed by the following metrics: device ownership, smartphone, and tablet owners, smart TV owners, average time spent with media, traditional media users, TV viewers, video-on-demand (VOD) viewers, social media/messaging users, digital audio listeners, and voice assistant/search users.

“The Global Media Intelligence report provides in-depth reporting of consumer media habits across geographies focusing on time spent with media, adoption rates of media formats, and digital device ownership,” said EMARKETER principal analyst Paul Briggs. “Our analysis and indexing of results provides media buyers timely answers about current shifts in media consumption in 2024, and is a reference tool for 2025 media planning.“

“Media consumption overall predictably peaked during the pandemic, but this year we’ve seen consumers start to switch off – the time people spend online is returning to ‘normal’. The more traditional forms of media like TV have benefitted from an upgrade, with the rise of smart TVs, which we can see is shifting our attention to streaming. This latest report helps us to understand how people are interacting with media around the world, with unique differences in behavior and preferences from one region to the next – take the Middle East and Africa, where gaming is dominating, or the US, which has the highest levels of TV viewership of all markets. Gaining an understanding of these nuances is important for any brand trying to reach consumers today”, said Jason Mander, Chief Research Officer at GWI.

“The media landscape is at such an interesting tipping point. As time spent with media hits a ceiling for the first time, it is more important than ever before for marketers to not just think about what channels are being consumed but design experiences in and across platforms in a way that is unified, personalized, and connects with audiences in meaningful ways,” said Marnie Heard, Executive Vice President, Head of Insights, Publicis Media-Starcom. “Truly understanding what matters to people, why they are making choices, and how media platforms can unlock opportunities to inform, entertain, co-create or provide utility, will help set brands apart and drive positive business outcomes.”

The study shows that we’ve reached peak media. Time spent with media across digital and traditional formats peaked last year. The 2024 GMI results showed a plateauing of consumption in the 11 media formats measured. Smart TV ownership spikes make the largest screen in the home more addressable for advertising. The majority of TV manufacturer shipments worldwide come equipped with built-in internet connectivity. That means the biggest screen in many homes has much easier access to streaming apps and content.

Influencers are a key channel for targeting Gen Z . The creator economy has taken off largely because of interest from Gen Z. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube attract massive audiences interested in influencer content. For the first time in 2024, GWI asked respondents: 1) if they followed influencer videos (aka vlogs), and 2) if they used a paid platform to follow influencers.

Nice-to-have device ownership is not universal. The GMI’s metrics about device ownership cover a set of digital devices including essential tools (smartphones, PCs) and nice-to-have digital add-ons that enhance the digital experience (smart devices). For nice-to-have devices, country wealth has a direct relationship to ownership rates. Internet users in Latin America are among the most active users of digital media. They lead the world in time spent consuming content, including via mobile, social media and messaging, and music streaming.

Social media and messaging service adoption is ubiquitous across most regions, but Asia-Pacific countries are unique in the number of apps consumers use regularly. It is more common to use seven or more apps, a reflection of how ingrained these apps are for communication and commerce in the region. While Western Europe is home to four of the world’s 10 largest economies by GDP, according to the World Bank, the region is not on the leading edge of digital media usage. Users across this culturally diverse swath of the continent range widely in their time spent with media activities, but collectively they lag behind every other region in time spent on mobile and social/messaging apps.

TV viewership in the US is higher than in any other country tracked by the GWI, in terms of time spent viewing TV. The US appetite for linear TV is fueled by a wide array of programming choices, including a surplus of services delivered via digital channels across devices. Countries in the Middle East and Africa are home to the most active gamers in the world. The region’s gaming industry will keep booming over the coming years and lead on a global scale in gaming technologies, given recent investments in the region.