Despite the prolific rise of smartphones, laptops remain the most popular screens, according to new data from the second wave of Mediatel’s Connected Screens report.
While the difference is narrow, both the 67% laptop and 66% smartphone usage figures eclipse tablet devices (49%); however, tablet device growth has risen 5 percentage points since the last quarterly wave, with handheld games consoles sitting at the bottom of the table at just 20%.
The research, run in partnership with News UK, Videology and Ocean Outdoor, aims to make sense of what people do across all the screens they use in their daily lives – from TV, PCs/laptops, tablets and smartphones to digital outdoor.
Gathered from a rolling study of approximately 2,000 adults in broadband homes aged 16+, the research also reveals the continued popularity of catch-up services such as iPlayer, with 77% – up 3 percentage points over the period – watching TV content via a catch-up service over the past year.
While free streaming services like YouTube (45%) and subscription services such as Netflix (32%) continue to gain momentum, recorded TV programmes (69%) and DVDs or Blu-Rays (55%) remain the more popular ways to consume content.
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“It’s easy to forget as we work in our media bubble that smartphone and tablet ownership and usage is not ubiquitous,” said Anne Tucker, head of research and AV at Mediatel.
“The laptop still rules in many households and this is reflected in the results from this latest wave.”
The report confirms that dual screening remains a common activity and, in keeping with the overall most popular screen, the laptop is also most popular for this activity.
42% watch a TV screen whilst on a laptop or PC at least most days, while 39% watch TV whilst using a smartphone and 28% a tablet.
“As our Connected Screens research project moves forward, it will be interesting to see how this balance shifts,” said Tucker.
“Already with two waves of data completed, and a third wave at field, it’s clear that the connected consumer is becoming increasingly au fait with accessing content with their household’s technology.”
Tucker added that the most important things for consumers will be getting the content.
“They do not have the same care on which device or method is used, so long as they get to watch their programme when they want on the screen of their choice,” she said.
“The Connected Screens research helps to shed light on what these choices are, and how these are already shifting as new options in the home become available.”
Mediatel’s Connected Screens survey is the only research tracking usage across these screens from a media agnostic perspective. The latest Connected Screens report is available here – and subscribers to Mediatel Connected’s Connected Surveys module can access the data within the product.
