Smartphone and Tablet Growth Adds Viewing Opportunities in Hong Kong
Television penetration in Hong Kong is high at 99%, compared to the US at 96% [Note 1]. Nearly two-out-of-five Hong Kong households (36%) own at least 2 television sets. Although consumers are engaging with media across a spectrum of devices nowadays, live TV viewing still dominates among Hong Kong viewers, according to Nielsen which provides Hong Kong Television Audience Measurement (HKTAM) services to the advertising and media industries in Hong Kong.
More Screens, Faster Adoption
While the rise in technology has given consumers boundless choice, the HKTAM Establishment Survey shows that 71% of Hong Kong households have digital TV, with 14% owning a Smart TV/4K TV. In terms of daily TV usage, over 90% of Hong Kong households’ time spend on TV is on live TV viewing . Specifically, the Post-80s consumer segment, aged 25-34 share more varieties in terms of television activities (such as watching live TV programmes, playing video game console, etc) and spend the least attention on live TV viewing (88%). On the other hand, the silent generation, over 50, spend the largest proportion of time (93%) watching live TV.
The vast majority of Hong Kong television households have multiple technologies available, giving these consumers significant choice in viewing and listening options. In fact, 77% of households own at least one desktop or laptop and 44% of households have tablets. Over 80% of Hong Kong households use smartphones, 6 percentage-points more than the U.S. PCs are the most popular secondary screen (48%) for online video viewing. However, using a smartphone to watch online videos is getting more popular, these days, going from 29% in 2013 to 40% in 2014 [Note 2].
With a faster adoption rate for multi-screen viewing in Hong Kong and the increasing popularity of Internet entertainment through Smart TV or mobile devices, penetration rates of traditional TV peripherals, such as video game consoles and DVD/ Blu-Ray players, are declined.
Hong Kong Viewers’ Attention Around Media in Flux
The duration of average daily time spent on TV viewing can vary from less than an hour for light viewers up to 5.5 hours per day for heavy viewers. While different households share different characteristics in terms of household sizes or income levels, the major activity spent on television is still live TV viewing. Specifically, households that spend less than an hour on TV daily tend to spend more time on online videos either on PC or mobile devices.
“Nowadays, consumers’ time and attention for media is in flux. Increased video viewing on digital platforms of TV-produced content are changing the way we look at the consumption of traditional media,” said Wanda Gill, Vice President, Media and Marketing Effectiveness, Nielsen. “Accordingly, audience measurement holds the key to enabling true understanding of today’s changing audience behaviour, to monitor dynamic content and advertising in an ever-fragmenting media world.”
[1] Source: HKTAM
[2] Fieldwork period: August 25 – October 31, 2014; March 15 – April 30, 2013
