Television Losing Popularity?

In a survey published today by the Henley Centre into the future of the media, it was shown that watching television is becoming less popular as a leisure activity.

The report came to the conclusion that there is a “cultural underclass”; the poorest members of society, those with the least disposable income, spend 11 hours a week more than the richest in front of the television.

Sixty percent of those questioned would “rather be out doing something than watching TV”. 42% found most programmes “dull and predictable”, and 41% thought they had got worse in the past year. The report says that satellite television will not grow as fast as previously believed; at most a 12% market share by the end of the century. However, the research indicates that cable will overtake satellite within 5 years, predicting a crucial role in the longer term for the interactive capacity of cable television.

The report suggests that radio may grow in popularity because of its versatility. It also says that newspapers maintain their popularity, although sales are down because fewer people are buying more than one title more people are buying magazines. To compete with television, the papers will have to concentrate more on entertainment and analysis.

There appears to be a growing demand for local information via all types of media. When asked to rate a list of news stories, local news was by far the most popular.

The report also warns that there is some impatience with advertising. Two thirds said that they found TV ads “irritating”, and that they tried to avoid them. “We would expect to see a growing resistance to the ‘clutter effect'”, the report concludes.

Henley Centre 071 353 9961