Tinius Digest july 2020
Tinius Digest
Tinius Digest report on changes, trends and developments within the media business at large. This is our key findings from last month.
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Insight July 2020
The willingness to pay for digital news is growing rapidly – and Norwegians lead the way.
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism has published its annual report on the media industry. The report is based on surveys from 40 countries – including Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
Download the main report here.
…and the Norwegian report here.
Four main (Norwegian) findings:
1
Norway – and the rest
In Norway, 42 percent has paid for digital news the past year. By comparison, Sweden (27%), the US (20%), Finland (19%) and Denmark (17%) are far behind.
2
Social differences
More than half (51%) of people with higher education pay for digital news – compared to 37% for those with lower education. Not surprisingly, we find the same distinctions from high-income households (56%) and low-income households (37%).
3
Chooses video and music over news
If Norwegians have to choose only one subscription, 32 percent will prioritize video, 19 percent music and only 15 percent news.
4
Spotify dominates podcasts
Spotify’s’ investments in podcasts are now yielding fruits: in Norway, 36 percent have listened to podcasts the past month, which of 40 percent have listened through Spotify. Apple Podcasts are used by 22 percent and only 7 percent are listening through Google Podcasts.
Associate Professor Erik Wilberg at BI Norwegian Business School has conducted an extensive survey of Norwegians’ media usage.
Download the report here (in Norwegian).
Four main findings:
1
Becoming increasingly digital
Podcast-listening in Norway is continuing to increase, now reaching 25% of the adult population daily.
2
Social media important among young adults
Among the 18-29-year-olds, 27 percent say that social media is their most important source of news. This number drops significantly the older the respondents are.
3
Everything is mobile
A whopping 65 percent of Norwegians are consuming news on their mobile phone. The number is as high as 77 percent among 18-49-year-olds and drops to 59 percent among 50-59-year-olds. Norwegians over the age of 60 choose PC (61%) over mobile (46%).
4
Small changes
The coronavirus has not significantly changed the overall usage of social media in Norway nor the overall media consumption mix. But there are still striking differences between the age groups.
The Norwegian Media Authority issued a stern warning to parents and politicians after reviewing the findings from a survey among 3,400 children and adolescents aged 9 to 18.
Download the report (in Norwegian).
Tree main findings:
1
Planning fights
In the past year, 31 percent have witnessed at least one case of planning fistfights or other violent acts. 15 percent have seen this several times.
2
Minors buying alcohol
28 percent of 9 to 18-year-olds have seen content or discussion about selling alcohol on the platforms. 20 percent have seen this several times in the last 12 months.
3
Easy access to drugs
23 percent have witnessed content or discussion about marijuana sales – 16 percent have seen this several times.
Deloitte has published its seventh annual media habit survey. The survey includes Norwegians aged between 14 and 82 years.
It is worth noting that the survey was conducted in 2019.
Four main findings:
1
Interest in e-sports is growing
One in ten Norwegians is watching an esports event at least once a week. Among the 14-21 year-olds, the number is as high as 27 percent. One in three watches e-sports through linear TV.
2
Popular influencers
40 percent is following and consuming content from influencers on social media every week. The most popular platforms for influencer content is Instagram (24%), YouTube (20%) and Snapchat (16%).
3
...but not so trustworthy
While influencer content consumption is at its all-time high, only 15 percent have trust in their recommendations. When friends and family recommend a brand or product, 41 percent believe it will improve their perception of the brand.
4
The majority prefer podcast ads
81 percent of podcast listeners are not willing to pay to avoid podcast ads. Young adults are more willing to pay for their favorite podcasts than older listeners.
AudienceProject has examined the media habits in seven countries before and during the corona crisis.
Three main findings:
1
Surging TikTok growth
The growth of TikTok usage among 15-25-year-olds during the corona crisis is staggering (increase in brackets): Norway: 37 percent (+76%), Sweden: 30 percent (+71%), Finland: 29 percent (+71%) and Denmark: 18 percent (+800%).
2
Digital winners
When looking at the platforms, there are three main winners: video streaming (from 61 to 67 percent), podcasts (from 29 to 33 percent) and music streaming (from 57 to 66 percent).
3
Increased willingness to pay for digital news
The willingness to pay for digital news is growing, and Norway is at the top of the charts with 44 percent. Denmark stands out by being the only country with a decline in the proportion that is willing to pay for digital news.
The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) is continually monitoring the digital progress in EU member states. The indicators are connectivity, human capital, use of internet services, integration of digital technology and digital public services.
Read the full DESI Index 2020 here.
Download the national reports: Norway (PDF, 8 pages), Finland (PDF, 13 pages), Sweden (PDF, 15 pages) og Denmark (PDF, 14 pages).
Three main findings:
1
The Nordics – digital spearheads
Finland (72.3) scores consistently better than all other countries, followed by Sweden (69.7), Norway (69.5) and Denmark (69.1).
2
News consumption important
Norway scores particularly high on the digitization of banking services (97%), news (93%) and public services (91%).
3
Many countries lagging behind
Although the overall digital level is increasing in the EU (52.6), several countries are lagging far behind. Both France and Italy are behind the EU average. The report concludes that the EU, as a whole, needs a digital boost to be globally competitive.
A survey conducted by Kantar for the Norwegian Media Authority shows an increasing number of news subscriptions during the corona crisis. The figures include subscriptions to news, television and streaming services.
Download the survey here (in Norwegian).
Three main findings:
1
Growth despite crises
While 5 percent of Norwegians have canceled at least one media subscription, 8 percent answer that they have started a new subscription. This shows the importance of media when considering reduced income for many households.
2
Age differences
The changes are most significant among Norwegians under the age of 45, where 19 percent have started or are considering starting a subscription. At the same time, 14 percent of them have canceled or considered canceling at least one subscription.
3
Most people not interested
It is worth noting that the vast majority have not started, or considered starting, a subscription (84%). Nor have they canceled, or considered canceling, a subscription (86%).
The podcast platform Stitcher has published a report that gives a rare insights into the most important changes to our audio habits. The report is based on data from Stitcher’s 350,000 podcasts and through surveys among listeners.
Stitcher has also published a ‘pandemic update’ to the report here.
Three main findings:
1
Podcast growth continues
In 2019, 6.8 million episodes were published on Stitcher. This is an annual growth rate (2014-2019) of 62 percent. Streaming accounts for two-thirds of listening, while the last third is downloaded episodes.
2
Somewhat shorter episodes
An average podcast episode lasts for 49.4 minutes – which is 2.4 minutes shorter than the average in 2013.
3
Popular miniseries
The number of miniseries has increased from 4 in 2010 to more than 52,000 in 2020.
4
Avoid the weekends
The best days for publishing new podcast episodes are Monday through Thursday. The number of listeners on Friday, Saturday and Sunday are significantly lower.