Multi-screen internet access is becoming increasingly prevalent in Canada, according to a new report from Media Technology Monitor (MTM), with four-screen penetration increasing by nearly 600% in the past three years.
The report, 4-Screen Canadians: A Glimpse into Multi-Screen Media Behaviour, said 17% of Canadian internet users currently have access to four screens, up from just 3% two years ago.
More than three quarters of Canadian internet users (77%) currently own two or more screens capable of accessing the internet.
While the computer remains a key device for a variety of online activities, Canadians are increasingly relying on portable devices for activities such as social networking and reading online news.
But while streaming video services such as Netflix can be accessed via multiple screens, TV remains the dominant method of accessing these services. Four-screen Canadians spent three times as much time with Netflix as the average online Canadian.
Canadians are adopting new devices at a brisk pace, with nearly half of internet users (45%) now owning a tablet, and smartphone penetration more than doubling to 68% since 2010-11. The incidence of connecting to the internet via a TV set has also tripled in the past three years.
While household income is more likely to determine four-screen ownership (42% of households with an annual income of $200,000 or more have four-screen internet access, for example), households with children under 12 and households with teenagers are also more likely to have four screen internet access.
Four-screen ownership is highest in Alberta, where 24% of the population owns four screens.
The study also found significant differences in how four-screen Canadians consume media, as they typically spend 29.3 hours per week on the internet compared with 20.3 hours for the average online Canadian.
Four-screen Canadians also watch 1.4 hours less of TV on a TV set (13.6 hours vs. 12.2) and listen to 1.4 hours less of radio on a traditional receiver (9.4 hours vs. eight) than the typical online Canadian.
Four-screen Canadians also spend three times as much time watching Netflix as the average online Canadian (5.1 hours per week vs. 1.6 hours). They also watch 4.8 hours of online TV compared to 2.1 hours for the average online Canadian, and 9.5 hours of online video compared with 5.5 hours for the average online Canadian.
The report also found that four-screen Canadians are “keen” multi-taskers, with 90% accessing the internet while watching TV. More than half of four-screen Canadians (58%) say they always or often access the internet while watching TV.
Nearly one third of four-screen Canadians (31%) say they are likely to post to Facebook or Twitter about a TV program, with 20% indicating that they are likely to engage in those activities while watching a show on TV.
