More than a quarter (27%) of online Anglophones now have access to four screens (TV, computer, smartphone and tablet), up from 3% just three years ago, according to the latest report from Media Technology Monitor (MTM).
The report, 4-Screen Anglophones: A Glimpse into Multi-Screen Media Behaviour, says four-screen ownership is most prevalent among people 35-49 (37%), citing the cost of owning all four as a possible impediment for younger Canadians. Just 10% of Anglophone Canadians 65+ report owning four screens.
Despite the increased prevalence of “phablets,” the report says 14 tablet ownership continues to “skyrocket” among Anglophones, with more than 56% now owning the device – up from 17% in 2011-12. At the same time, smartphone penetration has more than doubled, while the incidence of households connecting to the internet via a TV set has more than tripled, to 44% from 14%.
An estimated 86% of online Anglophones now own two or more screens that can be used to access the internet, while three in five (60%) report owning three or four screens. Just 13% of online Anglophones report having access to just one screen.
More than half of Anglophone households with an annual income of $200,000 per year (56%) have all four screens, while households with teenagers and children under 12 are also more likely to own all four devices.
Four-screen owners also have slightly different media consumption habits. They spend 28.6 hours per week on the internet, compared to 22.2 hours per week for online Anglophones, while spending slightly less time with traditional media such as TV (9.6 hours compared to 12.6 hours) and radio (7.9 hours per week, versus nine hours per week).
The report also says “4-screeners” tend to spend more time streaming media than the average online Anglophone: Eight hours per week of online audio versus 6.2 for the general population, and 10.9 hours of online video versus 8.4 hours.
Approximately 58% of “4-screeners” say they regularly use the internet and TV simultaneously, while 94% indicated they have engaged in multi-tasking activity at some point.
While the group has embraced watching video on portable devices, particularly the shorter videos offered by services like YouTube, they are more likely to use a traditional TV set to access online TV. Interestingly, the internet-enabled TV set is their favoured method for accessing TV anywhere services like TMN GO and Rogers Anyplace TV.
The internet-connected TV set remains the most popular screen for Netflix viewing, with 84% of 4-screeners indicating that is how they access the service. They are also likely to favour the larger screen of the tablet versus the average online Anglophone.
The report findings are based on telephone interviews with 6,043 Anglophone Canadians, and are considered accurate within plus or minus 1.3% 19 times out of 20.
