The CRTC has issued the 2013 edition of its annual Communications Monitoring Report, which offers a comprehensive overview of Canada’s media consumption habits. Not surprisingly, they’re being re-shaped by technology.
According to the report, Canadians collectively watched 931.3 million hours of TV a week in 2012, almost half of which (48.9%) went to Canadian programs. The average Canadian watched 28.2 hours of TV per week, a slight decrease from 28.5 hours in 2011.
Each Canadian TV household generated $269 in advertising revenue in 2012, less than the U.S. ($543 million), Australia ($497) and Japan ($455), but ahead of the United Kingdom ($218), Italy ($199), France ($155) and Germany ($143).
The data also underscores the impact technology is having on consumption habits: 79% of Canada’s 13.9 million households had an Internet subscription last year, with the average number of households that had download speeds of at least 5 mps rising to 62% from 54%.
This increased broadband penetration produced pronounced lifts in online viewing and listening. For example, 33% of Canadians watched Internet TV last year, with typical users watching three hours per week – up from 2.8 hours the previous year. Four per cent of Canadians watched TV programming exclusively online.
Internet consumption of radio is also increasing, with one fifth of Canadians streaming an AM or FM signal over the web last year. Fourteen per cent of Canadians streamed audio on a smartphone, 13% stream over a personalized Internet music service, and 8% streamed audio via a tablet. Anglophones spent 20.1 hours per week online, compared with 13 hours per week for Francophones.
