In The News April 11, 2013

According to the New Generations 2011 Study commissioned by pay-TV channel Cartoon Network,  children are spending more than half of their spare time in front of a screen. There has been a big change in media usage in the past 18 months with a huge increase in app usage because of big increases in tablet and smart phone access. The biggest use of apps was for games, coinciding with a decrease in the use of consoles for gaming.

Some key findings

  • Kids represent a $ 1.6b spending pool, up 5.3% from 18 months ago 
  • Three out of four children watched TV with parents in past week, with movies and cartoons attracting the most co-­-viewing
  • Screen time accounts for more than half of spare time
  • TV and the internet dominate media consumption, with 88 per cent having been online and 94 per cent having watched TV in past month
  • Younger children’s usage of phones skewed to games, older kids use them to access the internet, while Apps are used across the age groups
  • Kids now watching an average of 10 minutes of video online a day, but it is music videos, TV and movies they are interested in ahead of user generated video 
  • TV and the internet remain the most effective advertising channels
  • Premium online units generated much greater cut through 
  • Parents support TV advertising with 6-­-in-­-7 agreeing that TV ads introduce children to relevant new products 
  • Kids with STV in home have 62 per cent more spending power than kids with only FTA
  • STV homes have a higher average household income, 54% more households with incomes of $110,000+ compared to FTA only homes. 

Read about the study in The Australian

See Peter Hammer, Senior Manager Strategic Research for Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific talk about the findings on the Mumbrella website

Read about the study in the Sydney Morning Herald