Opinion
Can media companies overcome audience fatigue? Well, it’s complicated
According to Deloitte’s 2024 Media and Entertainment Consumers Insights Report, Australians are switching and logging off in droves.
Peter Corbett, national telco, media and entertainment sector lead at Deloitte Australia, looks at what media companies can do to overcome this trend.
The COVID era is a time most of us would love to forget – with the notable exception of our media and entertainment industry.
Locked down, bored, and scared, there was nothing for Australians to do but alternate between staying informed and staying entertained. Our days were given meaning by the daily Premier-hosted news conferences and doomscrolling social media while bingeing whatever flavour of the week tv show was taking the world by storm. (Does anyone remember Tiger King?)
It was truly a magic formula for media and entertainment brands. Digital subscriptions to news brands exploded, social media engagement spiked, TV and radio audiences grew after years of decline and streaming became truly mainstream, with the average number of digital entertainment subscriptions per household jumping from 2.3 to 3.2 between 2021 and 2023.
But now it appears we have both reached and passed peak media. According to Deloitte’s 2024 Media and Entertainment Consumers Insights Report, Australians are switching and logging off in droves. In the last year, average time spent consuming media and entertainment dived 10% to just over 44 hours a week while the number of digital subscriptions per household remained broadly flat.
Worryingly for media and entertainment giants who are in the midst of an advertising downturn, that trend is more pronounced among the highly sought-after younger demographic: Gen Z’s weekly consumption time fell from around 60 hours to just about 45 – a stunning 25% decline. This was driven largely by a nearly one-third reduction in time spent on social media, but consumption time declined across all categories except for a small uptick in news and magazines.
Why are people switching off now? The most obvious answer to this question is that, with the pandemic firmly in the rear-view mirror, Australians are ready to (and in some cases, being mandated to) leave the confines of their homes more regularly.
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Our report backs this up: one of the few media categories to buck the trend and see consumption rise are podcasts and audiobooks, which are commonly consumed on the go and reflect a growing preference for Australians to consume media when it suits them rather than during “prime time.”
However, this is also an oversimplification. The reasons for the broad-based decline in consumption are far more idiosyncratic and vary from category to category.
For example, the drop in social media consumption appears to stem from increased awareness of its potential negative effects on mental and social well-being, particularly among younger Australians and their parents. In fact, 70% of those who live with children are concerned about the effects of social media, with half using parental controls to limit online access.
Meanwhile, a striking 90% of consumers advocate for new social media restrictions for those under 16, including 91% of Gen Z. To curb consumption declines, social media platforms will need to do more to reduce misinformation and ensure the content aligns with community expectations.
When it comes to video content, free-to-air (FTA) television remains demographically challenged. For every nine hours of FTA that mature Australians watch, Gen Zs watch just one. This demographic split has contributed to subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) viewership matching FTA viewership for the first time in our report’s 14-year history; both FTA and streaming services now equal just over 8 hours per week.
Multiple factors are likely at play here. One may be the impact of last year’s Hollywood strikes, which led to a dip in the quality of many favourite shows and fewer blockbuster franchises that capture viewer loyalty. Another factor might be the rise of ad-supported tiers, underscoring the need to integrate storytelling in advertising to reduce friction and combat ad fatigue.
The report also showed that Australians still rely on friends and family for content recommendations, suggesting SVOD providers have a significant opportunity to refine their algorithms to capture and retain viewers’ attention in a crowded market. Younger Australians are also prioritizing diverse representation in media and engagement opportunities with major franchises on social media—both areas where media companies can improve.
News media consumption, however, tells a different story—one about trust. While less than half of Australians believe major publishers and TV broadcasters drive positive change in society, almost three-quarters consider major publishers moderately trustworthy, compared to just 40% for social media. Unsurprisingly, in a U.S. election year, with an Australian federal election approaching and an increase in AI-generated “slop,” on social media consumption of trusted news and magazine brands has risen.
It’s worth noting, however, that this trust is conditional. As AI technology advances, news brands will be vital in guiding consumers through its complexities, teaching them how to verify AI-generated content and being transparent about their own verification methods. Done well, this could earn news brands a high level of audience trust—and advertising dollars. Done poorly, it could seriously damage brand prestige and consumer confidence.
Post-COVID, media and entertainment companies are juggling numerous challenges: mistrust, demographic shifts, shrinking ad spend, and the impact of AI are just a few factors. But by staying laser-focused on consumer wants and needs, media companies can still earn not only audience attention but also their loyalty, their wallets, and most importantly, their trust.
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